One Pony's Tale: The Drake Chronicles Vol 11: The Return of the King
by Dr-Lovekill
Summary: The 11th book of the series. Drake and family are summoned by Princess Celestia to head to the frozen north on a new assignment. Along with a famed artifact hunter, they must retrieve a powerful relic before a sinister cult can use its dark power to bring about the return of a long-feared evil. Will this case finally be the end of Drake...and all of Equestria? Rating may change.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

 _ **Greetings everypony, new readers and long-time Drake fans alike. I know I kind of built up some hype surrounding this particular story, and I hope it was all well-deserved. Hopefully, I can post chapters at a fairly good clip this time around, so you don't have to wait for updates as badly. Unless I just jinxed myself there. Anyhow, I hope you all enjoy the first chapter of Volume 11, and please leave your comments and/or questions.**_

I have debated for some time whether or not to include this particular assignment in the lengthy anthology of my life. I have already omitted some of the less-interesting cases, and thought for some time it would be better if I left this one out. Not because I think it's boring or routine, but because of _fear_. Not mine, but the reader's. I was worried that if everypony knew how close Equestria had come to total ruin, if the good ponies of this country knew what _evil_ really existed out there...what fear it may cause. But in the end, I realized that a story of my life wouldn't be complete without this account included. The event in this volume changed my life, and had it not, would have changed the world. I think that makes in important enough to write about, don't you?

Some mathematician (one of those Chaos experts) said that on a long enough timeline, noticable patterns begin to form in the most random and unpredicatable-looking fields. I don't know what that meant for him, something about forecasting the weather, I think, but after four years of the cases I'd worked on for Celestia and Luna, I began to see patterns of my own. For some mysterious damned reason, all of these strange, dark or noteworthy cases always began on the most unexeptional and innocent of days. It wasn't a dark and stormy night with bats flying around some old castle that kicked off this Hell-storm. In fact, I think it was a fairly sunny and warm spring day.

I had climbed out of bed at ten-thirty, and taken a long shower. If anypony who has read this entire library of an autobiography wants to know why it seems like I shower so much, it's because a white coat is so hard to keep clean. Dashie doesn't really care about a little dust here and there on her, and my sister's tan coat shows stains like a dirt clod, but I'm not so fortunate. After my shower, like on any other day, I halfway brushed my messy black mane, went downstairs to make a pot of coffee. Rainbow dash was already in the dining room, absentmindedly munching on a bowl of cornflakes as she read the newspaper. No doubt the comics or the sports pages. Dash wasn't one for checking the stocks and keeping up with events of the day.

"Morning sweetheart." I greeted. My rainbow-maned marefriend looked up.

"Hey Drake." She answered. "You're up kinda early."

"It's like eleven." I stated, continuing into the kitchen and preparing the coffee pot to produce my life-giving nectar.

"Yeah, and it's also Sunday." Dash countered, following me. "You usually sleep in."

"Heh...eleven's not sleeping in?" I asked. She simply shrugged as I put the pot on the stove. "Budder up yet?"

"Yeah, she went upstairs to get her drawing stuff right before you came down." Dash said.

"Alright. You guys wanna go do something today?" I queried.

"Like what?"

"Mmm...well, we ain't been to the park in a while." I thought out loud. "We can pick up stuff for sammiches and have a picnic. Let Budder play on the playground before she gets too old to think it's still cool and stuff."

"Drake, you played on the playground the last time we went." My marefriend shot back. I smiled. She was right. I had swung on the swings, see-sawed on the see-saw, and even slid on the slide once or twice.

"Alas dear Dashie, I was simply recapturing a mispent youth." I said philosophically. She leaned in and kissed me on the cheek.

"No, you just still have a playful side." She countered. "And it's super cute." that remark made me chuckle, but the moment was interrupted when I heard a knock at the front door. Apparently, my sister was walking by when the visitor knocked.

"Buuuub...there's one of those Day Guard guys at the door!" My sister called.

"What?!" I returned, walking to the door. Sure enough, there stood one of Celestia's Royal Guards, a large unicorn stallion complete with his golden armor and crested helm. Whatever this was about, it couldn't be very good.

"Told ya." Budder stated. The guard didn't look amused. In fact, he just stood there stolidly like they usually do.

"Alright sis...I got this." I said, ushering her away. I turned to the soldier. "Can I help you?" I greeted.

"Lieutenant Drake?" The armored soldier asked formally.

"Yeah, I'm Drake..." I answered. He held out a sealed envelope.

"Confidential correspondence from Her Highness Princess Celestia." He stated. I took the letter in my hoof. It was odd that she would send a soldier to deliver a letter. Celestia by this point in our professional and personal relationship usually either sent her little notes and assignments through the mail, by a messenger, or delivered the news herself.

"Did she send any specific orders or requests?" I asked.

"Nothing other than the letter, sir." He replied. "With the express orders to deliver it to you and you alone, with the utmost speed, and braving all hazard, sir."

"Uh...huh..." I mused. Now I was becoming very interested, and a little concerned. "One more question..." I finally added, trying to make sense of exactly how important Celestia had believed this piece of paper to be. "...when you're not playing mailcolt...what's your rank and duty?" Without hesitation, he answered.

"Master Sergeant Dayglow, sir. Senior Drill Instructor of unicorn combat magic, sir." So the princess had sent a senior NCO, and an expert in combat magic at that. She was no doubt worried that somepony might try to intercept the letter, and had placed it in the hooves of a formidable warrior.

"At ease." I said. "Thank you, Master Sergeant. You can return to Canterlot, and to your duty now." With that, I closed the door and walked into the dining room, holding the letter as if it could contain a deadly virus, or some horrible, nameless thing.

"What did he want?" Budder asked, looking up from drawing in her sketch book.

"A case?" Dashie asked.

"Not entirely sure yet..." I answered, breaking the wax seal on the envelope and pulling out the letter. I read the following:

 _' Lieutenant Drake,_

 _I apologize for the suddeness of this letter, but I must request, with the utmost sincerity that you travel to Canterlot at once. There is a grave issue with which I require your assistance, and it is imperative that the situation be resolved as soon as possible. As you will no doubt travel with your family, I have enclosed three train passes for today's service to Canterlot. Please come as soon as possible._

 _-Princess Celestia '_

"I guess we've been summoned to Canterlot..." I said, still curious about the tone of Celestia's letter. Her usual pleasantries were absent, and in the entire message, I could read almost an air of urgency. Celestia had not done well to mask the fact that something was terribly wrong, and I could read it between the lines. I folded up the letter and dropped it onto the dining table, still engrossed in thought.

"Drake?" Dash asked softly. "What is it?"

"I dunno..." I replied. "But I have a feeling about this case already." I let out a sigh. "Well...let's go pack our bags. We got a train to catch."

 _ **So what did you think? This case seems to be getting rather serious from the start, eh? I'm sure you can't wait to see what happens next, so I will try to have the next chapter up tonight or tomorrow afternoon. Until then, thanks for reading, everypony! -Drake**_


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

 _ **Hey everypony...I would have had this chapter up sooner, but I felt kinda bad that chapter one only had three views in 36 hours. I assumed that a story with Sombra and Daring Do would garner more interest, but instead I somehow managed to bring about the lowest reader interest in the history of this series for an opening chapter. Bit of a low-blow...but I'm over it, and I've returned with the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy this one. Drake and crew find out what trouble lies ahead, and meet their new teammate for this case. I hope to hear some input on this one. I promised this story would be dark, and I won't disappoint. So enjoy, and please review.**_

After a two hour train ride, we had arrived in Canterlot, and I was more than ready to learn what all of this was about. The three of us quickly threw on our bags and made our way to the Royal Palace. The armed guards at the gate, and again at the door, let us through immediately. Princess Celestia had no doubt informed them that we were coming, and ordered them to allow us through as quickly as possible. One inside the palace, we walked to the massive doors to the royal court, and I pushed them open.

Princess Celesta sat upon her throne, a look of concern painted on her face. She watched us as we neared the dais that her seat of power rested on, without saying a single word. I cocked my head questioningly, and the princess of the sun finally motioned to two guards in the room, a slight jerk of her head signalling them to leave. Once the soldiers were gone and the two tall doors had closed, the sound echoing in the nearly empty chamber, Princess Celestia spoke.

"I am sorry to have been so blunt in asking you here." She began. The monarch sighed. "You have been a tremendous aid to my sister and I...and to all of Equestria. Time and again, you've done the impossible, and saved possibly thousands of lives..." She glanced down.

"This is really bad, isn't it?" I asked. Celestia finally nodded.

"I must ask you to take part in a mission." She stated grimly. "If you succeed, you will have saved this country, and possibly the world..."

"And if I...fail?" I asked meekly. Celestia's eyes met mine for a moment, and I saw for the first time in the princess, a look of quiet desperation.

"Then we all may fail, Drake..." She answered.

"Tell me then, what's the issue?" I implored.

"Do you know of King Sombra?" Was the reply. I thought for a moment, to newspaper reports I had read.

"Wasn't he some deposed ruler up north?" I queried. "All I know is he came back and tried to take over the Crystal Kingdom, then Dashie's friends whipped him fairly good before he consolodated all his powers or something...that's what the papers said." Dash nodded in agreement.

"That's pretty much what Twi said too." My marefriend added.

"Yes...well, that was a little over a year ago now." Celestia said. "And I, along with everypony else, believed that Sombra was finally defeated." She paused a moment. "I admit that even after his fall, I still detected a small vestige of his magic. I thought it was only residual..."

"He's still alive." I stated. I wondered what this had to do with me though. Did Celestia want me to assassinate some despot?

"Not entirely..." The princess replied. "I must start at the beginning if you are to understand what exactly you are up against." She said. "Long ago, in the frozen lands of the north, a kingdom was forged. The abundance of special crystals there became a source of great power to the ponies living in the Crystal Empire. They lived in peace and harmony for centuries, the empire was filled with hope and love, and those things reflected across all of Equestria. Then, the land fell under the rule of King Sombra. He took power and subjugated all of the ponies in the Empire under an iron hoof. Using his enchantments, an army of undead slaves, and his own mercilessness, he reigned in a dark period of torture, savagery and despotism. I finally defeated Sombra over a thousand years ago, but I did not predict the extent of his selfishness. Only after his fall did I realize that he had created a terrible magical failsafe in case of his overthrow."

"He boobytrapped himself." I concluded

"Practically..." Princess Celestia replied. "Sombra was a master of the dark arts, an expert necromancer and adept in curses and enchantments. He had, in his depravity, cursed the Crystal Empire to disappear once he was eliminated."

"Son of a bitch took his own country with him?!" I exclaimed.

"For a thousand years." Celestia nodded. "Then...about a year ago, for some unknown reason the Empire returned. When it did, the spell Sombra had used on himself and his subjects weakened, and Sombra returned as well."

"Wait a minute." I stopped her. "How did this Sombra idiot make a whole country disappear? I ain't some master of magical doings and stuff, but isn't it impossible to make a solid object really vanish?"

"My sister claims it was a time-stasis spell of great power." Celestia answered. "It took hold the moment Sombra triggered the hex, and essentially locked the entire Empire, it's citizens, and the essence of the King himself in a singularity, forever trapped in the very moment I defeated him until the spell wore off..."

"I bet he was a little pissed at you when he thawed out." I muttered.

"Hm." The princess scoffed, obviously not amused. "He tried to regain his power by capturing the Crystal Heart, the source of the _kingdom's_ power. He was indeed stopped by The Elements of Harmony, along with Spike the Dragon. Once removed from the power of the Crystal Heart, Sombra's physical body ceased to be...save for the source of his own essence..."

"Which is..." I pressed curiously.

"His horn. The source of all his magical ability, as in all unicorns. It survived the first time he was destroyed, and it has survived this time as well." Celestia stated. She stood, and a look of determination crossed her face. "If Sombra returns, he will cloak the world in an unspeakable evil. He must be destroyed this time...once and for all!"

"I'm in." I stated. The ruler seemed to calm down a bit, and looked at me a moment. "I just need to know why you think he's coming back so soon this time."

"Yes...I was getting to that..." Celestia remarked sadly. "This time, he has help. A group of fanatics have stolen Sombra's horn from the tower in the Crystal Empire. They are powerful magicians themselves, and plan on using dark rituals to bring about the return of King Sombra."

"A cult of...Sombra worshippers?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes...so it seems." Celestia sighed.

"Ugh...what is it with these end-of-the-world creeps always trying to cause the apocalyse?" Dashie complained.

"My thoughts exactly..." I sighed. "Well, Your Highness...what's the details of this little mission? I take it I gotta go north of cold, shin-kick a few cultist idiots and get this horn back?"

"You have a lyrical way of cutting through the...ahem...red tape." Celestia stated dryly. "You will have access to whatever weaponry you may wish from the Royal Arsenal, and in addition, I have called in another specialist to assist you three in this endeavor."

"Specialist?" I repeated. "Who in Equestria is a _specialist_ in getting back stolen unicorn horns?"

"I...have recovered artifacts _you've_ probably never heard of." A cocky female voice stated from behind us. I turned to see a tan mare with raspberry red eyes and a mane composed of a rainbow of greys underneath a khaki pith helmet. She wore an olive-colored field jacket, and the obviously-outdoorsey pony was leaned against a pillar, chewing on a toothpick like she was the paradigm of cool. Unfortunately, this is exactly how my marefriend welcomed the newcomer.

"Ohmygosh! You're...you're totally Daring Do!" Dashie exclaimed. "Right?"

"Yep." The mare stated. "I guess so."

"The _real_ Daring Do?" Budder asked, directing the question at me. I shrugged.

"OHMYGOSH! I've read all of your books!" My marefriend gushed. I rolled my eyes. "Oh, except for the latest one...I'm only about halfway through it, but you're so awesome!"

"So you're our coworker, huh?" I asked Daring Do, as she joined our small group, seemingly unfazed by Dash's outburst of fangirling.

"I work alone." She answered, then looked at Princess Celestia. "I mean...would it be possible for me to handle this on my own, Your Highness?"

"No, Daring Do." Celestia said quickly. "This may prove to be a dangerous and complicated matter, and all of you will need to ply your skills to prevent this disaster."

"Yes ma'am..." The adventurer sighed.

"You are the best treasure hunter and adventurer in the land." Celestia said. "And Lieutenant Drake here is one of the best detectives, and a combat veteran of some renown. Rainbow Dash is a skilled fighter, and even young Budder is an expert in the paranormal. I am sure each of your particular strengths will be needed." She looked between us a moment. "Now unfortunately, we have wasted much time here, and I must send you all upon this journey as quickly as possible. Please stop this evil from befalling Equestria..."

"I will." I said softly.

"And please be careful." Celestia added. "I cannot spare any of you."

"I'll get the job done, Your Highness, don't worry." Daring said confidently. I didn't exactly mirror her enthusiasm, but if the whole damned country was on the line, I was just as ready to get to work.

 _ **So ends chapter two. what did you think? Possibly some friction already between Drake and Daring? How will they all work together to accomplish their mission? And will they be able to do so, before King Sombra is unleashed upon the world? I will try to have chapter three up soon, so if you like the story so far, fav and keep checking back. Until the next installment, thanks for reading, everypony! -Drake**_


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

 _ **Hey everypony. I'm back with chapter three sooner than I expected. As always with the earlier chapters in one of my longer stories, expect a little more buildup until it gets really exciting. It's still uncertain how Daring Do is gonna fit in with Drake and Co., or how they're all gonna stop King Sombra from returning, eh? I hope you're all enjoying the story so far. I had planned on doing this one for some time now, and I'm happy to finally get this one written. So, enjoy chapter three, and please review.**_

"You bring your toys, sis?" I asked as the four of us made our way to the armory in the Royal Palace. Budder grinned and reached back, patting the saddlebag on her right flank.

"Well, you sounded like this case was gonna be bad or something at the house..." She replied. I cautiously glanced at the bulging bag.

"What did you bring?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, just my trench knife." She replied.

"Oh."

"And those scalpels Shad..." Budder paused, remembering that Daring Do was with us. "That aunt Shade bought me...a couple pocket knives, that assassin wrist-blade you gave me, a can of pepper spray...oh, and my Marine Corps Camelus knife."

"Damn..." I shot back. "

"You normally let your little sister pack that much heat?" Daring asked, trotting up beside me. We reached the armory, and I opened the door and walked in like I owned the place.

"Let? My little sister can use edged weapons better than most regular soldiers..." I commented. I picked up a double-edged dagger and attached the hooks to my belt, opposite my trusty cavalry saber. "Heh. She made me teach her."

"Ain't she a little young to go on a dangerous assignment like this?" The explorer asked.

"She's saved my butt a few times. Never know, she might save yours too." I stated, almost insolently.

"Or I might save all of _you_." She shot back with a knowing grin. I handed Daring a knife, but she simply smiled.

"Got my own." She stated. "And my whip. Never needed anything else."

"Suit yourself." I shrugged. Rainbow Dash, not bringing along any weapons of her own, and probably trying to impress her idol, threw on a crossbow and a quiver of arrows, and strapped two daggers to her hind legs.

"You three just follow my lead, and we'll be fine." Daring commented. I shot her a cynical look.

"First off, I believe _I'm_ leading up this little outing." I remarked. "I mean, we'll probably be up against armed and dangerous ponies here. It ain't exactly a holiday trip to some dusty old pyramid or something." Daring raised an eyebrow.

"What is it you think I do?" She asked. How to answer that one...

"Well, I never read your books, but from what I... _glean_...you're one of those tomb raider types that travels around the world and recovers old artifacts and junk." I said.

"Yeah...I do." Daring replied irritably. "But it's more like me going on dangerous trips to some of the most isolated spots on this planet, and risking my _life_ to find ancient relics forgotten for centuries."

"Sounds real exciting." I said, throwing a coil of rope and a couple lanterns into my saddlebag. "And I bet it's a real adrenaline rush and all that, right? Tell me, finding all that antique garbage...is that for museums, or for personal profit?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah, I get _paid_ to recover the stuff, but it's not like I sell it on the black market like one of those morally bankrupt grave robbers." She said, almost defensively. "So yeah Lieutenant, it's for museums and universities. I'm just the muscle...and the brains half the time." I nodded and huffed.

"Well, since we're getting all acquainted and junk, you should know a little about me." I said.

"I did my homework." Daring interjected. "Almost a decade of active duty cavalry service on the frontier. You were reassigned to CID, and what's funny...you've worked on some of the most high-profile cases in the country, and not a single one involved internally investigating a military crime. Now why is that?"

"Mm...guess I just go where I'm told to go..." I shrugged innocently.

"Heh. Can it, Lieutenant." She quipped. "You either work as a private eye for the princesses, or you're an Intelligence spook." She flashed a cocky smile. "I don't care either way. I just wanted to know who I was being stuck with on this little job."

"She's good." Budder philosophically concluded.

"'Course she is kiddo..." Dashie replied. "...she's Daring Do! This is the pony that rescued the Sapphire Statue from Ahuizotl!"

"Alright, alright..." I sighed. "Let's get going. We have an evil overlord to stop." Budder and Dash trotted out of the room with me and Daring Do behind. At the door, I stopped, and turned back to the renowned adventurer.

"Problem?" She asked brashly.

"Hope not." I answered. "Look, I get it that you're some awesome, hot dogging, world-famous explorer and everything...but I need to know right off the bat...you're not gonna do anything to put my family in danger, are you?" She cocked her head curiously. "I got a bad feeling about his whole thing. This could be dangerous, and I want everypony to make it back...my marefriend and sister especially, but I don't plan on losing anypony on this, you included. We go in, do the job and get out, okay? No showboating...none of us have anything to prove, understand?" Daring scoffed.

"Don't worry none, Lieutenant. I'll watch your backs if you watch mine. That acceptable to you?"

"That's one of the only codes I believe in." I answered. "Now let's get going." We walked out of the armory. "Heh. You know, you remind me of my marefriend for some reason."

"How so?" Daring asked as we followed the girls down the main hall.

"You two are about the same annoying level of cocky." I stated. Daring glanced sidelong at me. I smiled, and walked ahead to join my family.

…...

We sat in the passenger car of the only train heading to the Crystal Empire that day. In the relatively empty car, I sat beside my sister, mulling over how I would go about tackling this case. Budder was sketching a winged platypus or something, and in the next seat over, Rainbow Dash was firing off questions about Daring Do's adventures while the explorer sat back in her seat lazily, her pith helmet over her eyes.

"And when you beat Doctor Caballeron...that was totally _awesome_!" Dash gushed.

"Uh-huh." Daring replied.

"Oh man...and getting chased by that boulder? You can get outta _any_ situation, can't you?"

"Yep." Daring uttered disinterestedly. I rolled my eyes.

"Hey sis.." I said. "This Sombra guy..."

"Yeah?" Budder replied, looking up.

"You study this kind of stuff...what's necroman or whatever?"

"Necromancy?" My sister asked, correcting me.

"Yeah."

"Well...like, it means he can summon spirits and raise the dead and stuff like that." She explained.

"Raise the dead...like zombies and stuff?" I queried.

"Princess Celestia said something about him having an army of undead soldiers and stuff...so yeah, I think he can make zombies." Budder said.

"Sombra was a master of the dark arts." Daring Do spoke, her hat still over her face. "During his little reign of terror, he had a small army of dead ponies he brought back to be his stormtroopers. He liked sending ponies' dead friends and relatives to their houses to make 'em stay in line. Rumor has it, he could raise the spirits of the dead and even demons, and talk to 'em like they were old friends."

"You could have mentioned that earlier..." I complained. "Ghost ponies...that's just great..." I groaned. "If this turd comes back from the dead, it'll be the Hell House all over again..."

"Hell...House?" Daring asked, raising her hat enough to glance at me curiously.

"Yeah...believe it or not, we actually have some experience with evil spirits and dead guys runnin' around." I replied.

"Good to know." Daring stated indifferently, dropping the pith helmet back over her eyes. "We'll probably need all the experience we can get."

"You get _paid_ to act unsociable?" I commented dryly.

"Eh...just used to working alone." She said back. "You three ever been stuck working with somepony, and it totally screws up your group dynamic?"

"Rusty Shackleford." All three of us stated blandly.

"And you don't have to worry about us not being able to keep up." Dashie said to Daring. "After all the awesome adventures we've been on, I'd say we're just as good as you at this kinda thing!"

"Wanna know the truth, guys?" Daring asked, sitting up in her seat. "I hope you three are as good as I've heard. I really do, 'cause I don't think you or anypony else really gets how massively bad this is gonna be if we don't recover that horn. We kind of have zero room for failure here. Now I've been in a few scrapes with some pretty nasty characters tryin' to take over the world, and I know you have too..."

"I know..." I interjected. "This King Sombra is the worst you've ever had to deal with, right?"

"Pretty much."

"And if we don't get that horn, and he's brought back to life, he'll enslave all of ponykind, and all that." I added. "I get it."

"You're taking it pretty well." Daring commented.

"Miss Daring, I sometimes think everything I've seen in this this world has made me a nihilist. It's not that I don't understand how severe this whole thing is...it's just that it doesn't surprise me, honestly. Being close to death...it doesn't really register. Well...as long as I know I'm doing something. You know, making the world better and all that. I know it's gonna be bad, and we're gonna be in mortal danger. We'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it...and hope for the best." Budder lay her head on my shoulder, and I was silent a moment. "And I meant what I said. You're all getting out of this alive."

"You really are _that_ pony, aren't you?" Daring Do asked.

"What?" I asked curiously.

"Nothin'." She answered. "Something I heard..." I closed my eyes and tried to block out all thoughts about this mission. It's like I told Daring Do. No sense in worrying about it right now. We'd be in the middle of it soon enough...

 _ **Looks like the gang will be starting their mission soon. In fact they will be in the next chapter, and I'm willing to wager many of you can't wait to see what happens next. Or what Daring meant when she called Drake 'That Pony'. Any guesses? I will try to have the next chapter up late tonight or tomorrow evening, depending on how procrastinating and lackadaisical I'm feeling. I just discovered Assassin's Creed, and it's a worthwhile waste of time, so yeah. I'll try to write the next chapter soon though. Until then, thanks for reading, everypony. -Drake**_


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

 _ **Hey everypony. I'm back with another chapter. I hope everyone reading this so far is enjoying the story and getting into it. Things will pick up shortly, I promise. You know how I am...two or three chapters of dialogue and character development before anything resembling exciting happens. So enjoy chapter four, and please review.**_

The Frozen North. That's what it is called on the maps, and a better name for the region couldn't be imagined. It was north, and it was frozen. If the desert was an unending sea of sand, then this place was an ocean of white, as far as the eye could see. Snow...snow everywhere. I hate snow, by the way. It's cold and wet, and somehow manages to soak you to the bone and make _you_ cold and wet. Even through our fur-lined woolen cloaks, the fierce icy wind whipped at us as we trudged from the nearest train station to the outskirts of the Crystal Kingdom.

I learned that the train line was not extended to the city-state through most of the year. It was just to difficult to keep the tracks clear of snow, even using magic. No sooner would they reopen the line, then a snowdrift or a blizzard would cover them again. So from fall to late spring, ponies had to travel to Icehelm, a town ten miles from the city walls of the Crystal Empire, and sled or walk the rest of the way. After almost four hours of trudging through snow and me shivering like crazy, the four of us finally stood at the front gates of the kingdom.

"Well...that's sure a sight..." I muttered, gazing up at the sparkling crystal towers and spires. I had heard of this place, but I didn't really expect the whole city to be made out of multi-colored, shimmering crystal.

"That is really awesome." Rainbow Dash stated.

"It's shiny..." My sister added.

"Eh." Daring Do shrugged, walking into the city like the sight was no big deal to her. Honestly, with her, it probably wasn't.

"Thank you all so much for coming so quickly." Princess Cadence stated kindly, the pink alicorn walking up to greet us as soon as we entered the Royal palace. She looked at me a moment. "Oh...I remember you. You're friends with my husband. Lieutenant Drake, that's right, you were at the Grand Galloping Gala."

"I was, milady." I bowed my head slightly. Then, formalities aside, I grinned. "How is that rascal?" I asked.

"Shining?" Cadence asked back with a smile. "He's good." He smile dropped. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid the same can't be said about our future...or the future of this kingdom." She sighed.

"So I've heard." I said. "And if we're gonna take care of this disaster, we need to see where the horn was stolen from, and we need any information at all that'll help us track down the thieves."

"Of course." The princess of love nodded. "I will take you myself." We followed Cadence across the small plaza outside of the crystal palace, to the entrance to a tall tower. Inside the enormous structure, we were led down a flight of stairs to a chamber guarded by two soldiers, despite the fact that the door was standing wide open, and it was obviously empty.

"This the place?" Daring asked.

"Yes. The horn was locked in a chest protected by magic. The ponies who took it must have been very powerful. They knocked out the guards with sleep spells, then got into the room by blasting the lock on the door. Then, they somehow defeated the enchantment on the box, and took King Sombra's horn."

"Had to be a pretty powerful unicorn." I concluded.

"Or a group of them." Cadence countered. "You see...the next day, this letter arrived at the palace." She It's...I'll let you read it..." I took the rolled up parchment, and unrolled it in front of me on a small table in the room. It was written in a blocky, dark red script. It didn't take me long to realize that it was actually penned in blood. It read:

 _'To the usurpers of the throne of the Crystal Empire, and the illegitimate rulers of all the land;_

 _We have reclaimed the horn of power of our lord, King Sombra. We have lain in wait for this moment since his wrongful subjugation, and the time is neigh for his triumphant return. Our Lord had planned for the weak and impotent rabble to rise against him, and little known to you fools, he had forged his method of return from the beginning._

 _Once the seal is cast and the vessel is prepared, King Sombra will return, thrice powerful as before, and regain his rightful place as ruler of the Crystal Empire, and of all the world. Prepare yourselves for the coming of a new world.'_

"Ah shit..." I groaned, handing the letter to Daring Do. "These guys are serious...and if they ain't lying, they're some of Sombra's original running crew..."

"That's what we've all feared." Princess Cadence said sadly. "Do you honestly think you'll be able to stop this evil from happening?"

"Princess, we'll do everything we can to stop those ponies from bringing Sombra back." Daring Do stated.

"I know what the score is..." I added grimly. "This time, it ain't just a government or a bunch of money on the line..." I looked back at Dash and Budder, and let it really hit home what it would mean if Sombra came back and enslaved everypony. "It's everypony, Your Highness...your family and mine. And I don't plan on lettin' that...tyrant come back and hurt anyone."

"Do you know where they might be?" Cadence asked.

"The letter arrived here the day after the horn was stolen?" I questioned.

"Yes. The next morning." The princess answered. "Why?"

"That means they're nearby." I said. "This place is pretty isolated, and it would take some time to transport the horn any distance away, then send a letter back. I'd say they're still here in the Crystal Kingdom, or at least pretty damn close."

"That's kinda capricious, isn't it?" Daring asked me. "How do we know they didn't just drop the letter in the mail before they came and got the horn? Or maybe they even wrote it before they came here, and sent it locally the night they broke into the tower."

"I don't think so." I answered. "First off, they wouldn't send the letter until they were sure they had the horn in their possession. Otherwise, they'd just look like idiots. Secondly, I'm sure that after they took the horn, the only thing on their mind was getting back to their... _home base_ or whatever, not sending off mail. And think about it...this was their little messiah's home. Where else they gonna resurrect him?"

"Guess you're right..." Daring sighed. "You might actually be as good as they say."

"Glad you're coming around." I commented dryly. "So we need to know princess, where would somepony go if they wanted to conduct a ritual or whatever?"

"If I knew, I would have every soldier in the Empire looking for them." The princess replied. I thought for a minute.

"Alright...we need to see every old scrap of information you have on Sombra. Stuff from way back when he was in power, stuff about who he was before he came to power, and stuff from when he tried to come back. Alot of stuff, milady, and fast."

"If it'll help, I'll make sure you get whatever you need." Cadence nodded. "The museum has a restricted room in its basement dealing with the history of the Crystal Empire before Sombra took power, and everything we could find from his reign. You might find something useful there."

"Okay...any information on ponies that might have backed Sombra when he came back?" I added.

"Yeah. There were some who actually swore to serve him. Four of them were executed, but two are locked in the dungeon still."

"I know how bad this may sound, princess..." I began. "But we're gonna have to extract some information from those two. Um...is it alright with you if we speak to them...in private?" Cadence sighed and a look of sadness crossed her face for a moment.

"Do what you must..." She replied. "I understand what's at stake...and that sometimes...bad things have to be done to stop even worse things..." She looked away. "I'll inform the guards to give you...full access to the prisoners. Try to keep my hooves clean of this, detective."

"I won't even tell you anything if you want."

"Deal." The alicorn said softly.

"Alright..." I said. "Daring, you're the expert on history and artifacts here. I'll need your help in the museum, deciphering stuff and trying to find out places important to Sombra...Dashie, you and Budder...you two go to the prison and take the two turncoats someplace private. Then try to... _convince_ them to spill the beans on this operation." I inhaled deeply and sighed. I hated being the bad pony, even if it meant saving lives. I pushed it from my mind. Had to be done. Contrition could wait. "Remember...they're condemned to death already. I'll be there to finish questioning them when I'm done at the museum."

"Alright." Dash nodded. "I'll make sure they know that me and Budder and gonna be the _good_ cops..."

"Okay." I stated to everypony in the room. "Let's get started. The doomsday clock's already ticking."

 _ **I admit that last little scene was a little dark, with Drake essentially planning on using Gitmo techniques to get the traitors to talk. I think he's not happy at all about having to do it, but he understands that desperate times call for desperate measures. Will it be enough? Will the team find the Sombra worshippers before they can bring about the return of the dark king? I will try to have the next chapter up soon...or at least in the next few days. Until then, thanks for reading, everypony.**_

 _ **-Drake**_


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

 _ **Sorry for being late with this chapter, readers. Life and stuff. Actually, I want to take a moment and talk about life...I've thought a great deal about it lately, and I've come to a realization that life is a painful and debilitating disease. At least it has been for me. And I find myself finally conquered by the illness...bedridden by the cancer of living that has destroyed me slowly over the last 31 years. I am ill, but I have not yet died, no matter how much I now want to. I have lost so much, and suffered so greatly, and always kept my optimism. No longer. There is no light at the end of that tunnel...no silver lining in the clouds that gather on the horizon, the inevitability is all I have left. Love, and hope, and happiness have left me, and all I have left to do is to wait for the illness called life to kill me, unless I one day have the nerve to do as Hemingway did...**_

 _ **Just a rant...ignore me, I'm losing my mind. Here's the chapter. -Drake**_

"You find anything?" I asked as I looked over an old book on the history of the Crystal Empire. Across the small room, Daring Do lowered another book and cocked her head.

"Listen to this..." She said. "Apparently Sombra crowned himself king after he...well, I would say overthrew the princess of the kingdom...but it's more like turned her into crystal and obliterated her."

"That's pretty damned harsh." I commented. "Lemme guess...he was some low-ranking royal or a general or something, and wanted what all ponies with power want."

"Actually, I don't see anything in here about him from before he took over..." Daring answered, flipping through some pages. "And this thing covers all the royalty and stuff from _way_ back."

"Huh." I mused. I looked back at my book. My research was going nowhere. I started pulling parchments off of a tall shelf, and unrolling them one by one. After I had already made a pile of the scrolls on the table, I paused when I saw Sombra's name. "Wait...I think I found something...yeah, this was written a while after Sombra got his ass kicked the first time." I read the passage, then reread it out loud.

"Though Sombra enslaved the crystal ponies with his wrath and dark magics, there were those who willingly and loyally followed their master. They carried on their fealty long after their king was defeated and destroyed by Princess Celestia, and hope still for the return of the king..." I looked up. "Some ponies never give up, huh?" Daring shrugged, and opened another book as I wandered over to a large bust of the evil overlord. "This is him, huh?" I remarked. He appeared to be a strong and regal-looking stallion, but if there was any doubt about his nature, the fangs, scowl and demonic crown dispelled any thoughts of him being a nice guy. Plus he had sideburns. Any pony with sideburns like that had to be evil.

"Huh? Yeah, that's Sombra." Daring Do stated, distracted by the volume she was flipping through.

"He looks the part, I'll give him that..." I muttered. I stared at the statue a few moments more, then moved on to another large bust of the king. This one depicted his horn a good deal larger than the last. No doubt something he'd ordered the sculptor to do. "Compensating for something, your lordship?" I said mockingly.

"Are you talking to statues?" Daring asked wryly.

"Just trying to get to know my enemy..." I returned. I reached up and touched the horn. To my surprise, it seemed to move a little. I pulled my hoof away, hoping I hadn't broken a priceless artifact. Instead, it looked like the horn had receded into the bust's head a little. I curiously pushed on it again, and sure enough, it slid into the statue. There was a click, and a compartment in the base of the bust popped open.

"Do you always have to touch everything?" Daring complained, joining me in front of the statue. "What if that thing was boobytrapped?!"

"Eh...never happened to me before..." I replied with a shrug. I pulled a folded up piece of yellowed parchment from the small space and unfolded it carefully. "Besides, I think I found something kind of interesting."

"What is it?"

"Well...um...I think this is Sombra's hoofwriting."

"What?!" The adventurer exclaimed.

"And it looks like it was torn out of some book or journal or something." I added. "See the tearing on the edge? And it's written front and back. Ponies usually only do that in diaries and notebooks and stuff."

"You seriously found a page of Sombra's journal?!" Daring asked in astonishment. I grinned triumphantly.

"Guess I'm a pretty good treasure hunter too." I remarked. She scoffed.

"You got lucky." She shot back.

"Alright...lessee what this says..." I began to read the page, and my mood deflated more and more the further I got in the passage. By the time I had finished the back of the journal entry, I was fairly certain that if I had any pleasant feelings about this mission, they were now gone for good.

"What does it say?" Daring Do questioned. I folded up the paper.

"Nothing...just a bunch of rambling on about how good it is to be king and stuff." I said. "Bastard could have at least hidden away something useful." I stuck the page in my saddlebag. "Still, I'm gonna give this to Princess Cadence when I get the time. She might be happy we found it." I looked around the room. "Let's see if we can find anything else that can help us."

 **From Rainbow Dash's Personal Memoirs:**

They were in separate rooms. Actually, I had found two small offices, each one had a desk and a couple chairs in it, and we had the guards bring one of the prisoners to each one. They were cuffed and shackled, with bags over their heads, and I had to think of a good way to go about doing this. Drake wanted me and Budder to interrogate these guys, and I wanted to play it up a little, make the two stallions sweat a little. I walked into the first room, and jerked the bag off of the brown stallion's head, and sat down across from him at the desk.

"Who are you?" He asked defiantly.

"It don't matter who I am." I said back to him. "I'm nopony, and you're gonna answer my questions. Understand?"

"Get mounted." He growled. I stood and slapped him across the face with a velvet pouch filled with sand I had under the desk. He let out a grunt, and moved his lower jaw around, recovering from the hit.

"Okay...question one..." I said. "How are your friends gonna bring Sombra back from the dead?" He immediately straightened up and looked into my eyes.

"King Sombra is returning?" He asked in surprise, then cocked his head. "Or are you just messin' with me?"

"I didn't say he was coming back." I replied. "I asked you how your little cult or whatever plans on trying to bring him back."

"Hahahahaha!" He laughed. "You pathetic little worm. You can't even mask the fact that King Sombra's return is at hoof. You're gonna suffer along with the rest of all the other worthless ponies that..." I cut him off with a blow from the bag that split it open, causing the sand to shower the stallion. He fell over in his chair, and still tied to it, lay on his side, coughing on the cloud of sand.

"I asked you a simple little question, pal." I said, getting really angry at the guy. "Tell me how the cult is planning to bring your dead hero back to life...NOW!"

"Or what?" He asked back.

"Or I'm getting my assistant to come in here and ask you again. And you ain't gonna like my assistant."

"Piss off." He said boredly.

"Fine...have it your way. I'm gonna go beat on your buddy in the next room. I'll be back with my assistant in a few minutes." I warned him before leaving the room. Budder was waiting in the hall, looking at me like she was asking how it went.

"Well?" Drake's sister asked.

"He wouldn't talk." I said. "Need a more... _heavy duty_ bag for the sand. Mine broke when I clobbered that idiot with it. Alright, I'm gonna go talk to the other pony now. You wanna come?"

"Sure." She answered. We threw open the door to the room, making sure it banged against the wall, making a lot of noise. Budder slammed it shut behind her, and I pulled the bag off of the gray stallion's head. He looked around, probably still confused about what was going on.

"Where am I?" He asked. "Who are you?" He looked between me and Budder. "Who's the kid...and what is this?"

"We'll ask the questions here." I said. "We know that you helped Sombra when he came back."

"No shit." He replied. "So what?"

"So, that means you're in a position to answer some questions we got about your dead master." I shot back. "You answer 'em, you go back to your cell. You don't, you ain't goin' anywhere ever again."

"You...you don't scare me with that..." He said. "And I don't know what a couple of girls are..." Before he could finish, Budder had jumped over the desk, and dove onto the stallion, sending him onto his back. "OH SHIT!" He called out. Budder was on top of him, holding onto the collar of his prison shirt with both hooves. "AH...you broke my FUCKING ARMS!"

"Answer our questions." Budder said, sounding very serious. "How is the cult gonna bring Sombra back?"

"A spell, alright?" He answered.

"We knew that." I said. "Be a little more specific!"

"Get this little bitch off of me!" He yelled back.

"What did you call me?" Budder asked through clenched teeth. She punched the stallion in the jaw.

"Budder...stop." I said. Drake's little sister was getting fired up, and it was starting to make me a little nervous.

"Budder, huh?" The stallion asked. "Kinda like _you,_ Budder."

"The heck does _that_ mean?!" She demanded.

"I ain't had a filly in over a year." He answered. Budder looked confused for a moment, then she realized what the stallion was saying, and there was no time for me to jump over the table to stop her. The next thing I knew, Drake's sister was beating the guy with both forehooves like a crazy pony.

"Fuckyoufuckfuckingfuckerfuckingkillyoufuckingkillyou!" She screamed. "Fucking say that to me, you sick fucking fuck!" I finally managed to tackle her to the floor, probably saving the stallion's life. His face was hardly recognizable anymore, and he coughed and spit out a couple of teeth.

"Budder...calm down..." I said. "Just...cool it, okay?" She nodded, took a deep breath and sat up. The teenager looked at the battered stallion, then back to me.

"Did I really do that?" She asked, sounding shocked.

"Yeah, you did..." I replied. She looked at the blood on her forehooves.

"I...I don't feel bad about it, Dashie..." She whispered. "He deserved it...didn't he?"

"Yeah, he did." I said.

"Um...don't tell bub I cussed like that..." She muttered. That filly...she'd just beaten a stallion within an inch of his life, and she was worried about the fact that she'd dropped an F-bomb.

"Well...let's go work on the other guy a while..." I sighed. "Maybe he'll spill now."

 **From Drake's Biography**

Daring and I looked at the page in the book that lay open before us. I'm certain we both felt the same as we read the words written a thousand years ago. I probably understood it better, having read the journal page that now rested in my saddlebag, and on my mind. The book was a collection of writings taken from diaries, letters and reports, and covered the time of Sombra's ascension to the throne. We found a couple of interesting letters from ponies who knew the king before he became an almighty warlord. From what we could glean, Sombra had been found in the frozen wasteland, not far from the Crystal Empire when he was just a foal. He was placed in an orphanage, and nopony that knew him thought he would ever do anything like he did. Why, they didn't say, but from what I deduced, he was probably either so meek or so nondescript that he was the last pony his old classmates suspected would one day rise up and enslave them.

We finished up in the room, and left to see if Dash and Budder had uncovered anything from interrogating the traitors in the prison. Before we left the museum, I felt compelled to read the journal page one more time. I excused myself, and walked into the bathroom near the entrance of the large museum where I pulled the letter from my bag. I unfolded it, and read it for the second time:

 _'I now know that I must embrace the prophecy shown to me. I have fought my true nature for years, but I can no longer. A pony must find their reason to exist, their own destiny. All else I have tried is in vain, save for that vision which was given to me that day at the Crystal Fair. I have been a failure at everything I have attempted to become. Including having a friend. I truly **SCRIBBLED OUT** nt Hope. I trusted her. This is the weakness of fools, I see that now. Friendship and love have left me destitute and forsaken. I am the despised son of a world that pretends to love whilst all the while taking for their own ends. All are monsters, and the greatest of the monsters are the ones who can set the board and win the game. I shall be king of the monsters._

 _Mother has given me the truth. I know now why I am so different, why I have never belonged among the crystal ponies. They despised me and cast me out. Now, as I grow stronger by the day, I know they shall soon ten-fold feel the pain that they visited upon me. I have never felt such power as I now possess. Soon, I shall become strong enough to seize the Crystal Throne and my destiny shall be fulfilled._

 _I do not know any longer if I would go back and change my destiny if I had the chance. For an opportunity to be truly happy, I think I would trade the world. But there is no true happiness in the world, so I will settle for the world instead. I will rule the monsters as king of them all._

 _I love you, **SCRIBBLED OUT** . You gave me strength when I was weak. Now you are my weakness. I regret only what I have to do to you.'_

I folded up the yellowed page, and stuck it back in my saddlebag. I was starting to realize that this Sombra wasn't a run-of-the-mill sociopath. In psychoanalyzing the criminal mind, you learn that there are born monsters, and there are those that are made. What had made King Sombra the way he was? I pushed those thoughts from my mind as I rejoined Daring by the front door of the museum.

"Let's get to the prison and check on Rainbow Dash and my sister...see if they found out anything useful from those prisoners." I said.

Daring and I walked down the hall where Dashie and Budder stood waiting, two Crystal Guards standing at the end of the hall, placed there by Cadence in case something went wrong."You get anything out of those guys?" I asked.

"Not much." Dashie answered. "We've been in each room a couple times. They're seriously loyal to Sombra, and I don't think they're gonna roll on him or the cult anytime soon." She sighed. "It was worth a shot, right?"

"They still in there?" I asked, nodding toward the rooms.

"Yeah, I was waiting on you like you wanted..." Dash replied.

"Sis...can I borrow your scalpels?" I asked. She pulled the pouch out of her bag and nervously handed it to me. Dash noticed the look on my face.

"Drake?"

"Which one's the worst offender?" I inquired.

"The one in that room." Dash pointed to one of the doors. "Drake?"

"Give me a few minutes." I walked into the room, where a brown stallion sat, cuffed to a chair, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. I felt a funny feeling, almost like I was outside my own mind watching my actions.

"Rough day, huh?" I asked. He shot me a death glare.

"You here to ask me more questions?" The stallion questioned angrily. "I already told the two little tramps that I ain't saying anything."

"Oh..." I mused. Tramps...this lowlife not only had information I needed, but he'd just called my marefriend and my little sister tramps. I slowly slid one of the scalpels from the pouch, and walked around behind the prisoner. My mouth felt dry, and there was a slight throbbing in the back of my head, as if I was getting one of my famous migraines.

"I don't care about askin' you questions." I stated. "I'm just gonna kill you."

"What?" He exclaimed. "You can't do that...by law, somepony has to be executed by a legal officer, and only by order of..." I gave him a hard punch in the back of the head to shut him up.

"You're a servant of a damned tyrant, and you're gonna sit there and preach the _law_ to me?!" I shouted. I walked to the door, and locked it. "For your information, this is a matter of national security, and you've been given over to _my_ authority. Vis a vis that very open and liberal order, your ass belongs to _me_. You had the chance to talk a while ago." I walked back over to the stallion, and slid the scalpel down his right foreleg.

"OH HELL that hurts!" He screamed.

"I'm gonna carve you up like a jack o lantern." I stated grimly. "Any information that falls out of that mouth of yours might stop me, or it might not. I don't give a shit which..."

"AHHHH!" He cried out as I sliced deeply into the muscle tissue of his shoulder. I must have hit a major artery, because a stream of blood spurted out onto my forelegs.

"Your lord and master ain't coming back." I advised him. "I'm gonna stop your little cultist friends and grind Sombra's horn into powder!" I slid the scalpel into his chest, being careful to keep it away from the lung. "And if they _do_ revive the asshole, I don't care what kind of mojo he's got, I'm gonna take him apart. Don't believe me?" I shoved the blade further in, and the stallion cried out again. "Tell me where the fuck they're gonna do their little ritual!"

"NO!" He yelled. I pulled the scalpel out of his shoulder, and stabbed it back in again. "AHH! You're gonna die! King Sombra will come back, and he'll kill you..." I narrowed my eyes at him. "But not before he kills your whole family...slowly...and makes you watch." I lost control. In anger, I jerked the blade from his shoulder, and slid it roughly across his abdomen. I didn't know it would do what it did. I wouldn't have gone that far if I had. The scalpel was sharper than I thought, and when I drew it across his belly, it created a deep wound that allowed part of his intestines to fall out. I stopped, snapped back into reality by the shock of my own actions, and stepped back, my body trembling. He looked down at the damage I'd done.

"You killed me...you killed me..." He gasped. I watched him, not sure what to do, or if I could do anything. He arched back in the chair, and the rest of his innards spilled out onto his lap, and the floor. He began convulsing, and after a few moments, stopped moving altogether. I looked down at the blood on my forelegs. I felt slightly nauseous, and couldn't believe what I had just done. I hadn't meant to kill him, criminal or not, and it hit me in the gut like a punch. I still had to find information, and I thought of a way to do it.

I slipped out of the room, careful not to open the door enough to let the others see into the room at what I had done. I didn't even look either of them in the eye as I walked into the next room. The gray stallion in the chair was beaten pretty badly, and I assumed that he had mouthed off to Dashie or something equally as serious. He stared at me, probably wondering what new Hell was coming now.

"Hey." I began. "I want to know where the cult is gonna perform their little ritual, and I wanna know right now." He looked away. "Alright, have it your way." I growled. I grabbed him by the top of his mane, and jerked him over sideways onto the floor, then began dragging him to the door, chair and all. The stallion yelled in anger, fear and pain the entire time as I threw open the door, and laboriously lugged the criminal down to the other door.

"Look away." I ordered Dash, Budder and Daring. "I said look away, alright?!" They fearfully turned away, and I shoved open the door, dragged the stallion inside and shut it. "Alright, you see that?!" I hollered, gesturing to the dead stallion. "You think this is a game?!"

"Wha...you...no, don't kill me!" He stammered. "Please...you're fuckin' crazy."

"Yeah...I'm crazy! I'm losing my everlovin' mind, and if you don't wanna end up like your comrade there, you'll tell me what I want to KNOW!"

"Okay, okay...the ritual can only be done in the crystal cavern underneath the ruins in the wasteland!" The stallion exclaimed. "That's the place, I swear! Don't kill me!"

"I ain't gonna kill you." I returned. I stepped back out of the room. "Guards?!" The two blue, shimmering crystal guards moved up, nervously glancing at the blood spattered on my white fur.

"Sir?" One of them replied.

"There's uh...one for the infirmary...and one for the undertaker..." I stated. They nodded, and I motioned for Dash, Budder and Daring to follow me before the guards dragged out the two prisoners. "Some ruins out in the wasteland." I stated. "That's where the cult is, and that's where we're going."

"Bubby?" My sister said meekly, trotting up beside me. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah...no...I dunno..." I answered, not meeting her gaze.

"Did you...did you kill them?" She squeaked. I swallowed hard, and kept walking.

"One...one of them." I whispered. She pressed her head against my shoulder.

"I love you..." She said, sounding almost afraid to hear what I would say back.

"I love you too, sis." I said softly. "It'll be okay, angel. I promise."

"Mmhm..." She sounded.

"Drake?" Daring called.

"Yeah."

"Listen...you good? I mean...you good to do this?"

"I'm game." I answered. "Let's get to the wasteland."

 _ **Fairly long chapter, and Drake showed his dark side for the first time since Volume Two. Spoiler...it gets worse. I'll try to have the next chapter up tomorrow if I ain't dead in a ditch somewhere, so keep checking back if you actually like this story. Drake out.**_


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

 _ **I'm back, readers...just as I said I'd be. I promised someone I'd finish this story and the two that follow, and I plan on doing so with all due commitment. I'm gonna try to write a chapter a day at least, unless something really bad happens to distract me. At this point, that can be expected as a possibility. I'm kind of taking things moment-by-moment right now, and fighting the apathy and lethargy brought on by a bout of depression the likes of which I've never known before. I will try to press on until the series is done though, you have my word on that. Now, I hope you're enjoying the story, and that you all enjoy chapter six.**_

Did I ever mention that I hate snow? Well, I was back in it, and I hated it. I trudged through belly-deep snow and icy, numbing wind for an hour before we at last saw up ahead the ruins that were our destination. Through the blizzard, they poked up through the white blanket of snow like jagged, aged gray chunks of ice. What was once a small castle or an old fortress made of smoky-colored crystal was now a broken and crumbling reminder of a long-forgotten outpost in this desolate landscape. I knew that somewhere beneath the ruins lay the labyrinth of caves we had to explore in order to complete our mission and stop Sombra and his followers. Of course, I had to comment on the nature of the ancient ruins we stood before.

"Sure...it's a nice house and all..." I said. "But look at the location..."

"Very funny, Drake..." Daring Do groaned.

"Drake...just get inside before you freeze to death." Dashie added.

"No argument there." I returned sourly.

"Wait...I'm goin' first." Daring stated. "Could be boobytrapped." She moved in front of us, and cautiously stepped into the ruins. She looked around, examining the floor and walls for any traps our quarry may have prepared for trespassers like us. She finally took the whip from her side, and snapped it at a wire on the floor ahead of her. A log studded with sharp crystal spikes immediately swung down to where any unfortunate pony would have been standing. With the trap disabled, we walked on through the entranceway, and deeper into the old structure, scanning the walls for any more traps or a way down into the caves.

"Alright, keep your eyes out. There's gotta be a secret doorway or a hidden passageway somewhere." Daring Do stated pragmatically.

"Why?" My sister asked.

"There's almost _always_ secret passages in these old ruins." Daring answered.

"You two _really_ need to read her books." Dash stated. I rolled my eyes.

"Why? The real deal's standing right here." I countered.

"But they're so awesome." My marefriend argued.

"Sweetheart, did it ever occur to you that we might be making up the next book right _now_?" I shot back.

"Hey...guys...shut up." Daring called in a whisper. "What did I say?" She gestured to a rectangular block of wall that was covered with some strange glyphs or symbols.

"What...bad art?" I asked. Daring growled, and walked to a statue of an evil-looking pony in jagged armor. "Just kiddin', Daring. I knew what you meant. That _has_ to be the most poorly disguised secret door ever." She nonchalantly grabbed the lance connected to the statue and pulled. Instead of the slab on the wall opening like a door, with a grinding sound a section of floor in _front_ of the carved block opened up, revealing a flight of stairs leading down.

"I know. It was pretty obvious to me too." She said smugly.

"Heh. Alright...egg on my face. Well, after you." I whispered to Daring. She shrugged and walked carefully down the crystal staircase with the three of us close behind. The stairs led us deep underground. By the change in air temperature (it actually got a good deal warmer), I guessed we were at least a hundred feet below the surface before we came to a long corridor extending back into the darkness. I drew my saber, and Budder put her trench knife in her teeth as we began to walk down the long hall, Daring in front with a lantern, and Dash in the rear with a lantern to provide enough light for us to see any danger coming. I had no idea what we may run into down there, and I was not entirely prepared for what happened next.

"Stop..." Daring whispered. We halted, and peered ahead into the darkness of the lengthy passageway. "You hear that?" She added in a low voice. I perked up my ears.

"What?" I questioned.

"Shhh..." Daring shushed. I listened intently, and soon I could make out a shuffling sound. Then silence. Then more shuffling. It sounded like somepony was slowly dragging something along the dusty crystalline floor.

"The Hell's that?" I whispered. The noise suddenly stopped. Budder and Dash moved up beside me, and for a log, silent moment, we all glanced at each other, wondering what we'd just heard. Then, out of the darkness it came.

It looked like a pony...or at least like it _used_ to be a pony. What came barreling down the hall looked like a pony who died, was buried, dug up a year or so later, and brought back to life to scare and disgust the Hell out of us. Its crusty, necrotic flesh was missing in spots that revealed bone and tendon, and the thing's eyes were glazed and pale. It made a sound like an angry pig's squeal as it galloped toward us at a strange limping gate, it's mouth open wide. At the last possible moment, we all sidestepped, parting to let it by as I slashed out with my saber, cutting a gash in the deformed pony's side that would have stopped any attacker. It fell face forward to the ground in a heap.

"What the Hell was _that_?!" I exclaimed, gesturing to the thing. It jerked, then climbed to its hooves. "Holy Shit!" It's head twisted toward me, and it let out another squeal and charged. I grabbed it and rolled onto my back, launching the creature against the wall. It hit with a thud, but by the time I had gotten to my hooves, it had too. As it came at me again, Daring let fly her whip, and caught the beast around the neck. Instead of turning to face the new threat, it continued to pull toward me, snapping its jaws.

"Holycrapthat'sazombie!" Budder exclaimed. I looked at my sister, then back to the thing. Without much effort, I plunged my saber into the chest of the pony. It seemed to not feel my sword in its heart, or even to notice I'd just impaled it. I pulled out my blade, and again stabbed deep into the zombie. Again, it didn't faze the monster, which continued to pull against the whip.

"Drake..." Daring gasped. "Do something...I can't hold...this thing..."

"Bub, the head!" My sister advised. "You gotta take out the brain, bub!"

"Oh...that all?" I shot back before pulling my double-edged dagger and thrusting it through the thing's eye-socket clear to the back of the skull. It immediately went limp and fell to the ground, leaving a brain-coated dagger in my hoof. I started down at the dead creature a moment, then said the only thing I could think of.

"What the _HELL_?!" I cried out.

"Had to be one of Sombra's zombie soldiers..." Daring Do muttered, unwinding her whip from around the dead ghoul's throat. "Probably brought here by the Black Magic crew to guard the caves..." She bent down and examined it closely. "Hey Drake, you see the meat on this thing?"

"Yeah...it's like leather." I answered.

"This thing's been around a while...maybe since Sombra's reign." She stated.

"You mean these guys have been keeping that...thing alive for a thousand years?" Dashie asked, almost aghast.

"Probably." I answered. "I guess they wanted to keep one of their King's pets alive for when he came back. Maybe we just killed their master's lapdog."

"A real zombie..." Budder

"Yeah, and that's probably nothing compared to what we're gonna be up against if we don't stop these guys..." I said. "Let's keep going." We left the dead zombie laying, and made our way down the crystal corridor. We soon came to a split in the hall, one passage going left, the other right.

"We're gonna have to split up." Daring offered.

"Nope, they went that way." I replied, pointing down the left corridor.

"And how do you know _that_?" The adventurer pressed.

"Look down the other hall." I said. "See the cobwebs? They ain't been disturbed. I think I even see bats hanging from the ceiling. That means nopony's been that way yet. Heck, the bats tell me that if we go that way, we'll end up back outside at some point. Now look this way..." I gestured to the left. "Some of these lower-hanging cobwebs are torn, and there's no bats. Somepony went this way not too long ago."

"Huh..." Daring said after a moment of silence. " _Heard_ you could track..." I smiled, and started walking down the hall with Daring, Dash and Budder close behind me. After another two hundred meters or so, I came to a dead stop. I heard voices up ahead. Glancing at their faces, I could see that the others hear it too. I motioned with my right forehoof the military hoof sign to advance slowly, and crept forward, keeping low to the ground. I reached a point where the hall turned at a 90 degree angle, and slowly peeked around the corner. There was some kind of large opening ahead, and the coast was clear. I motioned again, and we turned the lanterns down and moved up to the cavernous divide in the wall, and beheld what was before us.

The opening we stood at was the end of the floor, and of the passage itself. Below us was a large crystal cavern, at least the size of a large house. Crystal formations hung from the ceiling and rose from the floor like an ice castle. The whole cave was lit by dozens of torches, causing the walls and crystal stalagmites and stalactites to sparkle in the flickering light. From somewhere out of sight, deep in the cavern, a group of ponies were chanting. We had found the chamber where the ritual was being performed.

"This is it." I spoke. "How we wanna do this?"

"You're the combat expert." Daring replied. "I dunno how many of them there are, but if anypony can take 'em, it's you three."

"We can hold out own." I nodded. "So, we distract the cultists, and you abscond with the horn, right?"

"That's the plan." She stated, then paused a moment. "I mean, if you think it's a good one too." Wow...I had to pause a moment. Daring didn't trust anypony enough to work with them, and here she was asking me if her plan was sound. I didn't know whether it was my fighting the zombie, my tracking ability, or my dogged persistence to complete this mission that had done it, but I had somehow won over one of the most stubborn ponies I'd ever met.

"Yes...I think it's a great plan." I replied seriously. "But like you said, we don't know how many of them there are, I'm guessing at least six to eight. That shouldn't pose too much of a problem, right guys?"

"Nope." My sister answered smartly.

"As long as you leave a couple of 'em to me." Dashie added with a smile.

"Okay..." I said with a sigh. "Let's get down there, and do this thing."

 _ **Looks like they found the Sombra worshippers, but will it really be that easy to get the horn and get out? And can they do so before the evil King is resurrected? Hopefully, you don't have long to find out. I will try to have chapter seven up late tonight or tomorrow afternoon, barring unfortunate circumstances. Until next chapter, thanks for reading. -Drake**_


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

 _ **Hello again, readers. I was able to get this one written and posted, but not as early as I thought I would. More terrible news I won't bother you all with. The only reason I got this written today at all is that for most of the day, I chose to write instead of think. Thinking is dangerous for me now. Whatevs...to the fic; As the action builds, I hope that all of you who are following this story are finding it a good read. Enjoy chapter seven.**_

The Sombra cult consisted of a dozen ponies, from my count nine stallions and three mares. They were all dressed in gray hooded cloaks with red trim, and the only thing I could think of at the moment was how stereotypical it was that they were performing a ritual to bring about the return of a great evil being, all while wearing hooded robes. I watched from my position behind a stalagmite as they formed a circle around an altar made of black crystal, chanting a low rhythmic incantation. I turned and signaled the others to join me.

"What's up?" Dashie asked, moving up beside me.

"They're doin' their thing alright..." I said. "When they bring out the horn, we'll go in." I glanced back to make sure my sister was behind me and within earshot. "Soon as they pull that thing out, we'll hit 'em hard." I heard silent snickering from behind me. "What?"

"You know how bad that sounded, bub?" Budder whispered.

"Ugh...get your head in the game, angel..." I sighed. "We gotta go kick some major butt in a couple minutes."

"I know." She whispered back defensively. "And I'm ready, okay?"

"Alright." I said back. "Like I was saying, when they bring out Sombra's horn, we're gonna go out there, and start a brawl. Daring's gonna use the chaos to swoop in and grab the horn. Then, we disable or evade the rest of these guys and get the horn back to the city, and then to Celestia so she can destroy it."

"'Kay Drake. You know we're with you." Dashie said dutifully.

"I know that, guys." I replied. "And I know you'll be careful, right? Don't make me lose you...I mean it." I felt both of them press their heads into my shoulders.

"We won't." Budder whispered. I smiled a little, enjoying the moment before the storm. It soon came. I saw one of the stallions, no doubt the leader judging by his more ornate red robe, pull a large wooden box from a crevice in the wall, and carry it to the altar. He sat the box down, slowly opened it, and withdrew a strange object. At first, I didn't realize that it was what we were waiting for. It didn't look like a normal unicorn horn, cylindrical and segmented. This appendage was long and curved, almost like a blade. The busts of Sombra were accurate, the despot really did have an unusual horn. He was a very strange pony...

"Drake...what is it?" Dash asked.

"Oh, I'm thinking about framing up a door in my study and turning the upstairs bathroom into a Jack-and-Jill." I replied.

"The heck?" My marefriend shot back. I turned and gave her a sly grin.

"You guys ready?" I asked.

"Yep." They answered. I peered up to a ledge above the gathering, where Daring Do watched the scene unfolding, waiting to play her part. I saw her looking intently at me, and from behind the crystal pillar, I gave her a silent hoof signal that we were beginning. Okay Drake...time to do it live. I took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the stalagmite, and walked toward the ponies conducting their little ritual with a friendly smile on my face.

"Hey, how are ya?" I greeted cheerfully. The ponies all turned to stare at me in surprise. "Sorry, I think I took a wrong turn at Applequerque...um...can you give me directions to Kick-your-ass-town?"

"He is here to stop the ritual!" The leader of the Sombra worshipers exclaimed.

"Aww, how'd ya guess?" I said smartly. The two cloaked stallions nearest to me charged, drawing wavy-bladed daggers as they came. I pulled my saber, scoring a drawing cut on one of them, and blocking the others attack by parrying his knife with my sword. At this moment, Dash and Budder came charging out of hiding, weapons drawn.

"Stop them! Kill them all!" The leader screamed frantically. I locked eyes with the stallion I had blocked, then in one move, thrust my saber into him before turning back to the fray. As I took on another stallion, Budder spun around and bucked one of the stallions hard in the face, then skillfully bear maced another as she rushed my sister. Dash easily took on another one of the mares, cutting the robed pony's wrist, disarming her of her dagger before bucking her against the wall, knocking her unconscious.

"Daring!" I shouted. The crack of a whip sounded as Daring Do hooked a stalactite. She swung down from her perch on the narrow ledge, toward the ringleader of the pack, who still had the horn of Sombra in hoof.

"I'll take that." She stated nonchalantly, snatching the horn as she swung past. The stallion let out a roar, and threw back his hood, revealing an angry red unicorn with an already-charging horn.

"Daring, look out!" I called as she landed on another ledge. She freed her whip and looked down just in time for the bolt of energy from the unicorn to hit the crystal beneath her, causing Daring to fall. I dove for the adventurer, and at least managed to cushion her fall, at the expense of cracking a few ribs and bloodying my muzzle. The horn fell from her hooves and skittered across the floor of the cave, and the unicorn made a dive for it. I saw Rainbow Dash leap behind a stalagmite as a burst of another unicorn's magic hit the ground where she'd been standing. We were losing against the unicorns in the group, and had nothing to fight them with. We had to get out in a hurry. I dove on top of the unicorn's back as he reached for the horn, and gave him a couple of disorienting blows to the back of the head with my right hoof. I slid forward and grabbed the horn, jumped to my hooves, and made for the tunnel at the end of the cavern.

"Come on! Let's go, let's go, let's go!" I yelled. Dash, Daring and my sister all galloped after me as a few more bolts of energy shot past us. We were soon racing down the cave system, attempting to elude our pursuers and find a way out of the labyrinth.

"Wait!" Daring called in alarm. We stopped, and I turned to see what was wrong. She pointed up to where a large pile of boulders was suspended above us by a rickety-looking platform. With my eyes, I followed the wire that ran from the rocks, down the wall to a metal eye-hook, and across the tunnel about knee-high.

"Damn..." I gasped. "Thanks for spottin' that, Daring."

"Thanks for the save back there." She nodded.

"Hold on." I said as I suddenly got a brilliant idea. I took some rope from my saddlebag, placing Sombra's horn in with the journal page, and quickly and gingerly tied the cordage to the tripwire. "Alright...over the wire, and be careful." The three mares carefully stepped over the booby trap, and I followed, letting out rope as I went. When we were all clear of any danger, I gave the rope a sharp tug, sending the boulders and dirt crashing down into the tunnel behind us.

"Good idea." Daring commented. "They won't be able to follow now."

"That's the plan..." I replied. "Might buy us some time to figure out where we are, and how to get out of this damned place." I looked around. "These cave systems can run for miles, and I don't want to spend any more time than I have to down here."

"Me either..." Budder sighed.

"At least we got the horn." I said, patting my saddlebag triumphantly. I suddenly got a sharp pain in my head, and had to back against the wall as I started to feel dizzy.

"Drake?!" Dash cried, moving quickly to my side. The pain wasn't like a regular migraine that I got on occasion. This was a sharp pain that felt almost like it started at the back of my skull, and bored into my brain itself.

"Bubby, you okay?!" My sister exclaimed. The dizziness and the pain faded, and I shook my head.

"Yeah...don't know what the Hell _that_ was." I answered. "Got a little headache there..." They stared at me a moment, obviously concerned about my well-being. "I'm alright. Let's get out of here, huh?" We started to walk down the dim corridor of crystal, and I paused.

"Meus es vas..." I heard a voice whisper.

"What?" I asked. The three stopped and turned to me.

"Huh?" Dash asked.

"Did one of you just say something...about moose?" I queried.

"Nnnnooooo..." My marefriend replied. Budder and Daring nodded their heads to the negative.

"Hearin' things..." I muttered, and took the lead.

 _ **Didn't turn out as long as I had planned it, but good nonetheless, right? Drake's team has the horn now, but does that mean it's over? What was with Drake's headache? Will they manage to get out of the cave? Hopefully, I will be able to get the next chapter done by tomorrow. Hopefully. Hopefully, I can get this STORY done. If for some reason I cannot finish this story and the rest, they will be finished by a proxy. I hope to present you with a new chapter soon though, I really do. Till then, thank you all so much for reading, and for being a part of Drake's life.**_


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

 _ **Sorry for the delay in getting this one done...helluva last few days. Bunch of drama, stress and internet problems, all conspiring to make my life a living Hell. I must apologize in advance in case this situation arises, but I don't know if I will be able to finish this story like I had hoped. I will attempt to do so...I really will. If a great calamity prevents me from completing this volume and the two that follow, they will be finished by a proxy at my behest.**_

 _ **Anyway, I hope you are all liking the story so far. Enjoy the latest chapter.**_

We walked the tunnel for at least half an hour before coming to a larger chamber. We rested for a moment as I tried to get my bearings. It's confusing, being underground. On the surface, you can always go off of distant landmarks, or use the sun, moon and stars to orient yourself. Underground, unless you have a compass, you have no idea which direction you're going, and have nothing to guide you except for the darkness of the passage ahead. As we rested, I took stock of what we had to go off of. Two tunnels led off from the room, one going slightly to the right, and the other going left at a sharp angle, almost doubling back.

"What do you think, Drake?" Daring finally asked. "You're the tracker here. Which way do we go now?"

"Well, we've been walking _away_ from the direction we came in...at least that's how it feels. What do you think?"

"I think I'd kill for a map of this cave system right now." The explorer answered.

"Know what you mean. I hate being lost." I said. "But...I think if we take that passage right there..." I motioned to the tunnel to the left. "...that looks like it takes us back in the general direction of the way we entered the cave. Maybe there's a way out that way."

"I hear ya." Daring nodded. "And I think you're right about the direction we've been traveling. Huh. This system doesn't look too complex anyway. If it's a dead end, it'll be easy enough for us to backtrack to here and take the other way."

"Right." I said.

"Are we lost, bub?" Budder asked, sounding worried.

"Only for a little while, angel." I said with a smile. "We're finding the way out right now, okay?" My sister nodded.

"Let's see if we can't get back to the surface world now." I sighed. I started down the left tunnel with Budder and Dash close behind, and Daring Do trailing slightly behind us. We walked for several minutes, and I was at least feeling better about our situation when it occurred to me that from the feel of it, we were walking slightly uphill. I was absentmindedly looking at the crystal on the wall as I walked, when suddenly, I began to think about King Sombra. What had made him evil? He had obviously hidden the journal page for a reason. Maybe he didn't want anypony to see that he once had a good side. Maybe he didn't want to remember himself.

"Do not fight the..." A whisper like a gust of wind sounded in my ears. I got goosebumps, and the hairs on the back of my neck tingled.

"Did you guys hear that?" I asked, stopping in my tracks. The others stopped too, and perked up their ears.

"What?" Dash asked, looking around.

"Somepony said 'Do not fight', or something. I swear I heard it." I explained.

"I didn't hear anything." Daring Do stated. "You think we're being followed?"

"No, I don't think so..." I answered. "I ain't heard anything else...but I keep hearing this whispering coming from somewhere. I've heard it a couple of times now."

"You sure it's not you mind playin' tricks on you?" Daring asked, cocking her head slightly.

"It isn't my mind." I returned sourly.

"Is it a ghost? Maybe?" Budder offered.

"Maybe." I shrugged. "I mean, this place could be haunted or whatever." I glanced around the cave one more time. "I dunno...let's just get outta here, alright?"

"Yeah...that sounds really good right now." My marefriend agreed. "This place is starting to give me the creeps." I took a few steps forward, and froze.

"Your body...is mine..." I heard a voice whisper. It sounded like it was very close, all around me even. I remember thinking that the last thing I needed right now was random ghosts. Then, it was like my legs turned to rubber, and everything suddenly went black.

When I came to, I was laying near the wall of the cave, with two cloaks draped over me. I had a slight headache, and it took me a few moments to remember what had happened before I blacked out. I turned and looked over to see Budder laying next to me, worry on her face. Dash was a short distance away, talking in a hushed voice with Daring Do.

"Bubby?" My sister whispered. "Are you okay?"

"I think so..." I answered. Dashie and Daring hurried over.

"Drake?!" My marefriend exclaimed. "Are you okay? What the hay happened?"

"Yeah...I'm alright now..." I groaned, getting to my hooves. "I think. And I don't know what happened. I was unconscious through most of it."

"You were talking about hearing some kind of whispering." Daring Do explained. "Then all of a sudden, you just collapsed." The treasure hunter reached out with a hoof and pulled my head from side to side. I guessed that her experience had given her a degree of medical knowledge. "You look alright now...how are you feeling?"

"Got a bit of a headache." I admitted.

"You think you can keep going?" She pressed. "We can stop for a while if you need to. I mean, you ain't sandbaggin if you're hurt, you know that."

"Been worse, done more." I shrugged.

"Sure you're okay, bub?" My sister asked again.

"Yeah. I probably need to see a doctor when we get to Canterlot though..." I muttered. I was actually more than a little concerned about what had happened. I knew I wasn't exactly in the peak of health, but I had never passed out for no reason. I didn't want to worry my family or Daring Do, and we still had to escape from the crystal caves. I threw on my saddlebags, and felt the right bag to make sure the horn was still in place. If there was something wrong with me, I wanted to get this mission over as soon as possible and see to it. The last thing I wanted to do was to hurt my sister and my marefriend by doing something stupid like getting dead.

"How long was I out, by the way?" I asked.

"Like twenty minutes." Dashie said softly. "You had us scared to death."

"Sorry guys. Heh...I'll try to stay conscious from now on."

"That's not funny..." My sister whined.

"Sorry...just trying to lighten the mood." I sighed. "Can't waste any more time. We need to get moving..." I said. "I'm pretty sure those cult guys are lookin' for us."

"Sure you're good to go?" Daring asked.

"Yeah." I answered. "And there's no time like the present." I added, turning and beginning to walk down the corridor of crystal. I heard them grab their saddlebags and start trotting after me. I didn't know if it was this assignment getting to me, or whatever it was that caused me to black out, but something was messing with my head.

As I walked, I saw a flash of something in my mind, kind of like when you suddenly remember something from your life. Only, it wasn't from my life. I saw the inside of a palace that I had never seen before, dark and bleak. I saw a chandelier, the flickering candles illuminating a banquet hall. Then, it was over. I wondered to myself why I had daydreamed something like that. I walked further along the passage, and another vision came to me. This time, it was like I was looking down from a tall balcony, onto a mass of ponies. Everything was too blurry to make out details, but there were hundreds of ponies below me. Then, the image passed, and my vision cleared. Had I hit my head when I fell? Was I going crazy?

"How far you think we have to go?" Dashie called from behind me, shaking me from my thoughts.

"Huh? Oh...I dunno...probably about eight hundred meters or so." I answered. "If this leads to the main tunnel, we should find it by then...hopefully." My headache was getting a little worse. In fact, it seemed to be throbbing gently now, a dull, pulsing pain in the back of my head. After another hundred meters or so, another image flashed into my head. I saw ponies wearing metal collars, heavy chains connecting groups of them together as they marched solemnly, their heads down. As soon as it had begun, the dark scene was over. I stopped.

"Drake?" Dashie said softly. "What is it?"

"I...I don't know..." I replied. I felt strange, cold, and like my body was charged with static electricity. "Guys...really...something's wrong." I choked out.

"What?! What is it?" Daring Do exclaimed.

"I don't know, but I don...I don't feel too good." I stated. My chest tightened, constricting, like I couldn't catch my breath.

"Kill them." A voice in my head ordered. Where had that come from? Another vision flashed into my mind's eye. This time, I was standing over Dashie, Budder and Daring Do. My marefriend, my sister, and the adventurer were laying before me on the floor of the cave. They weren't moving. They weren't breathing. I snapped back into reality, and quickly jerked around to face my family, who were standing there, staring at me with fear and concern painted on their faces.

"Drake, what is it?!" Dash demanded, her voice squeaking.

"I saw..." I panted. "I'm seeing...really bad things...like in my mind, I dunno..."

"What do you mean?!" My sister asked, on the verge of panic.

"I dunno...like I'm seeing what somepony else is seein' or something...can't really explain it...OW!" I grabbed my head when a sharp pain shot through my skull. "I ain't feelin' too good..." I stated. My vision began to darken, like I was on the verge of passing out again. "MEDIC!" I shouted instinctively as my legs gave out. Then, darkness.

 _ **This isn't looking good at all, is it? What is happening to Drake? Is it what it seems? Can Drake be being possessed by King Sombra? And if so, how? Hopefully, I'll be able to get the next chapter written out and posted soon. Do not be surprised if there is another delay in me getting the next chapter up. I'm having internet outages here, and don't know when service will be 100 percent. Only become concerned if there is a long hiatus. Until I post again, thank you all for reading.**_

 _ **-Drake**_


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

 _ **Sorry it took so long to get this one up. Internet has still not been restored, and I am having to locate wifi spots just so I can periodically check my fanfiction and e-mail accounts, and post an occasional chapter. Perhaps it's all for naught anyhow. By this weekend, I will know for sure whether or not I am going to even finish this or any more of the stories. If that happens, maybe my proxy will finish them for me, I don't know, but by then, I probably won't care one way or the other. \**_

 _ **Igf any of you are wondering exactly what's going on, I'll put it like this: Imagine Drake losing Budder. Picture what that would do to him, to see her taken away from him and broken, and he not being able to do anything about it. Now picture Drake and Dash not getting a case for months, having very little money, and worrying about whether or not they can pay the bills and keep their house. Now say all of this is going on right before Heartswarming eve. Welcome to my world. That's it exactly.**_

 _ **Enough of that now. So here is chapter nine. I hope you all enjoy it, and I hope you are all liking the story so far.**_

I awoke to darkness, and tried to turn over. It took me a few moments for my faculties to clear enough to realize that I couldn't move, and that I was covered up with something, some kind of cloth. I struggled to get up, and felt my hooves tied together. I couldn't remember what had happened before I lost consciousness. All I knew was that whatever was happening, it couldn't possibly be good. Priorities. Where was Dash and Budder? Where was Daring? Had I been captured?

"What is this?!" I called. "Dashie?! Sis?! Are you okay?!" A few tense seconds later, the covering was pulled off of my head, and blinking, I looked up to see Daring Do standing over me, a suspicious look on her face.

"Drake?" she asked. "Are you...you?"

"Wha...Who else would I be?" I shot back.

"Just answer me, alright? I have to make sure you're...yourself again." She stated.

"Myself? Daring, what the hell are you talking about? And where's Dash and Budder?" I tugged at my ropes. "And by the way, who the hell tied me up?!"

"I did." She answered. "Sorry about that. You were..." She paused a moment, and shot me a curious glance. "You...you don't remember what you did, do you?"

"What? What did I do?" I demanded.

"You yelled 'medic', then passed out again. We were trying to wake you up, and all of a sudden, you got up and started telling us really crazy stuff, like that we were going to be your slaves, and that if we resisted, you would kill us all. You were really loosing it, so I hit you over the head with a rock and tied you up."

"I did not say that!" I protested. "I think I would've remembered something like that!"

"Well, you _did_ say it." Daring returned. "I guess you're feeling better now though, huh? I mean...are you?"

"Yeah. Trust me, whatever the hell happened, I'm ME again, okay?" With that, Daring pulled the rest of the cloaks off of me, and untied the rope binding my hooves. I stood and shook off the pain in my legs. "Where's my family?"

"Down there." Daring replied, nodding down the corridor. "Your little sister got really upset when you went psycho. Dash had to take her away from you to try and calm her down. Not that your wife is taking it much better."

"Shit..." I muttered.

"Um...sorry for havin' to restrain you there..." Daring offered. "And for the whole busting you over the brain-pan."

"Eh, if I really did what you said I did, I'd have hit me over the head too." I said with a wave of the hoof. I walked down the corridor, to where my marefriend and my sister were sitting, holding onto each other. "Um...hey guys..." I said softly. They turned to look at me with worried expressions. My sister had tears in her blue eyes, and looked at me like she didn't know what to expect from me..

"Bubby...are you okay now?" She asked. My heart sank. Whatever I had done had really hurt her. Rainbow Dash stood and gave me a hug, then looked into my eyes a moment.

"Are you?" Dashie asked in a low voice.

"Yeah, I am guys." I said "I dunno what happened back there...Daring Do filled me in on...I guess on a little of what I did when I passed out. That wasn't me...you guys know that, right?"

"I know." Dash whispered with a nod.

"But you're you...now...right?" Budder asked.

"Yeah. I am...and I'm sorry for whatever I apparently did or said." I answered. "I think there's something seriously wrong with me...maybe it's like where I passed out or something, or maybe it's a spell or something...something one of those unicorns did..."

"Maybe you're being possessed." My sister said meekly.

"What?"

"You were acting like somepony else...and you said like you were seeing stuff somepony else saw...maybe you're possessed."

"If I am, then by who?" I asked desperately.

"Sombra." Daring stated from behind me. That one word hit me square in the gut. I froze, and felt myself start to tremble a bit. "I mean, the things you said a while ago...it sounded like King Sombra talking." I remembered the whisper telling me 'Your body is mine', and suddenly it all started making sense.

"Hey Daring?" I questioned nervously. "You know latin?"

"Course I do." She answered. "Why?"

"What does moose is vass mean?"

"Well...I'm guessin' you mean _meus is vas_." She said. "It means um... _you are a vessel_."

"That don't make me feel any better." I muttered dejectedly.

"Why?" Daring returned. "Where did you see that?"

"Didn't..." I said. "I heard it. When I said I heard whispering...that's one of the things I heard."

"That can't be good." The adventurer sighed.

"My thoughts exactly..." I whispered. I looked at my family sadly, then back to Daring. "You mean that megalomaniac is trying to take over my body?!" My heart started pounding in my chest. "What the hell do I DO?!"

"Find a way to get him out of there!" Dash exclaimed.

"He can't have you!" Budder cried. "He can't! Because I need you!"

"Okay..." Daring began. "Drake, we gotta get you out of here, and to Princess Celestia, so she can fix this." She noticed my look. I was feeling almost frantic. "Calm down, Drake. It'll be alright."

"Alright?!" I shot back. "Daring, I have a dead dictator tryin' to take over my damned body! Nothing _about_ this is alpha-oscar-kilo!" I paced back and forth like a caged animal, attempting to process my thoughts into a cohesive mental structure of some kind. Nope, not working...

"Drake..." Dashie said, unsure what to say.

"Your family needs you. WE need you." Daring stated. "We're getting outta here. All of us. You said that yourself. You can fight Sombra until we get to Princess Cadence or Celestia and have his butt forcefully ejected from your brain. If anypony can, it's you." I heaved a sigh.

"Okay...just for the record, sorry. I'm just having a really difficult time with this thing." I said. "We don't have a choice in this. We gotta get out of here, and now."

I walked along, Dash and Budder on either side of me, occasionally sending me inquisitive glances. They were obviously watching me to see if King Sombra was going to make another appearance any time soon. Not far behind me was Daring Do, and I got the distinct impression that even though the renowned adventurer respected me and had my back, she was watching me like a hawk, ready to react if I had another bout of not being me. I made a mental note to try my damndest not to let the evil ruler take over my mind again. My head still hurt from where she'd hit me with a rock the first time.

I had plenty of time to think as we moved down the corridor for what I hoped was the exit. Why had Sombra chosen me as his vessel? Maybe we had interrupted the ritual at the right (or wrong) time, and his spirit or whatever it was had been brought back, and jumped into the first body it saw. Maybe it was because we had defeated his followers, and he'd sensed that, and figured that I was a stronger pony than the intended vessel. Thinking about it didn't make me feel any better.

I couldn't let Sombra take over my mind and body. I'm not narcissistic enough to think that my family couldn't survive without me, I knew it as a fact. If something happened to me, Rainbow Dash would be devastated. She would be able to go on, I knew that, but would she ever be the same? I knew my sister wouldn't. I was her world. If I died or got possessed, it would probably kill her. It's a heavy feeling, knowing that your life is tied so closely to that of others that anything you do, or anything that happens to you affects them. It's the joy of being loved, and loving other ponies, and the fear of letting them down.

I felt a slight throbbing in my head, and a cold feeling washed over me. An image came to me, an image of an army of pony slaves, led by brutal overseers, rushing into battle. I made the scene go away, telling myself that it wasn't _my_ thoughts, forcing myself to focus only on the present, and to the ponies around me. I turned my thoughts to Budder's recent 15th birthday, when we had all gone out to see a play, then had dinner at a small diner because the fancy restaurant we'd planned on going to was booked. I thought about when Budder had gone out to hang out with Echo, and Dashie and I got to have an entire evening all to ourselves. Soon, the images and the cold feeling left me. I had pushed Sombra away for now, but for some reason, I felt little comfort in my victory.

We traveled for what seemed like half an hour before we came to a larger vault in the cave. Several passages led off from the room, making my despair grow even more. I had hoped that the tunnel we had just been in would simply link to the main passage, but now we were faced with more of the confusing network of caves. The others seemed to be downhearted by the new turn of events as well, and for several wordless moments, the four of us stood in the chamber, looking at the four possible directions we could now go.

"Drake? What do you think?" Daring asked.

"I track on the surface." I said grimly. "I have no idea."

"It has to be one of those two." She said, pointing to the two middle tunnels. "The others go off in different directions than we need to be going, right?"

"I guess..." I answered.

"And we ain't splitting up." Dash added.

"No." I agreed. "I need all of you close by..."

"Well, what if we..." Daring began. I quieted her with a hoof over her muzzle. She gave me a curious look, and I released her and pointed to my right ear, then down the cave that led to the left, a signal to say 'listen'. We turned down the lanterns, and moved over behind a crystal outcropping near the tunnel, and soon we heard a pair of voices.

"We must find them." One of the voices stated. "We must find them and retrieve the horn before it is too late."

"What if it is?" The other asked. "What do we do then?"

"We wait."

"What do you mean?" The second pony's voice queried.

"What happens then will happen. _His_ return cannot be stopped now. It has already begun." The first pony spoke. As the two ponies drew nearer, I slowly and quietly pulled my saber. Dash and Budder drew their weapons as Daring unrolled her whip. It was he perfect ambush, and as the two Sombra followers entered the cavern, we sprung the trap.

 _ **The story is getting darker and darker, isn't it? I'm sure many of you are wondering what is going to happen next. I will attempt to get the next chapter written soon. I will then try to post it as quickly as I can get my laptop to someplace with internet.**_


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10**

 _ **I meant to get this chapter up a little earlier than I have, but with recent internet problems still plaguing me, it was only now that I could be able to post it. I am beginning to believe that this story is cursed, much like Macbeth. But here is chapter ten, after a small delay. I hope you all enjoy it.**_

As the two stallions entered the cavern, and passed by our hiding place, I immediately recognized one of them as the leader of the Sombra cult. Before they spotted us, we sprung the ambush. I leapt onto the leader's back as Daring used her whip to lasso the other stallion, giving Dash and Budder the window they needed to charge him. The leader of the cult immediately used his magic to lift me off of him, and throw me against the wall of the cave. I quickly got to my hooves again, dodged a bolt of his magic, and tackled him to the ground. I was able to give him a series of powerful punches to the face before he once again propelled me away using some sort of magical shockwave technique.

"OW...shit!" I exclaimed, getting back to my hooves. "If you unicorns ain't the biggest cheats I ever..." My complaint was cut short by me having to jump out of the way as a blast of magic was fired at me. I saw that Daring and my family were making fair game out of the other pony, and notwithstanding my sad history of getting into it with unicorns, I wasn't about to let the malefactor beat me. Besides, even more importantly, he might have some valuable information about what was happening to me, and how to stop it.

I guess if I hadn't had this on my mind, I probably wouldn't have pressed the issue and taken on such a powerful unicorn by myself. But in my desperation, I guess I wasn't thinking straight...or at least tactically, and I charged at him, drawing my dagger. I saw him holding his ground calmly, charging his horn as I came at him. I planned on dodging his attack and striking before he could lash out again with his magic, the only thing that gave him the edge in our battle. But I was too slow, and the last thing I remember from the fight was seeing a blinding flash of light, followed by feeling an immense pressure in my head, then nothing.

I stood in a void. The ground was black, but everything else was a pure white, illuminated from some source I couldn't see. I remembered being blasted by the unicorn, and realized that I was either knocked out cold, or I was dead. I suddenly felt understandably bad about the latter possibility, and hoped for the former. As I stood there, trying to figure things out, I heard a voice from behind me.

"We meet at last." It spoke in a measured, regal tone. I turned to see a familiar figure standing a short distance away. I took in his appearance for a moment. He was a gray unicorn with a long black mane and tail. He wore a steel breastplate and greaves, and over his back was draped a white-trimmed red velvet cape. On his head was a silver crown, and from underneath protruded his long, curved, blade-like horn. "Do not look so surprised." The unicorn stated in a gravely yet suave voice. "Know you not who I am?" My first look at him, and I knew who I was dealing with.

"Yeah. You're that Sombra bird I keep hearin' about." I answered. "And you're the son of a bitch that's trying to possess me or whatever."

"You are a defiant one." He said, then laughed evilly.

"And you're a two-bit thug." I returned. "What are you doing in my head, and how the Hell are we even talking right now?"

"I suppose we have a little time to speak." Sombra said casually. "And I...owe a debt to the vessel of my return to at least explain how you are going to aid me."

"Cut to the chase, Sombrero." I growled, narrowing my eyes.

"Very well then..." He began. "You are at the moment, unconscious. This allowed us the opportunity to, at least for this brief time, coexist inside your mind, and converse as we are. It will be the last time, however that we can do this, as soon I will be powerful enough to gain complete control of you mind and body...at which point your own consciousness will perish."

"You know that I ain't gonna let you take over my body." It was a declaration, not a question.

"You have no choice in the matter." He said, stepping closer. "I have been overshadowing you, even before you gained possession of my horn. The prisoner you murdered? How do you know if that was your hoof...or mine that took his life?"

"How?!" I demanded. "How were you able to do that?!"

"The ritual had already awakened me." Sombra explained. "And when I sensed you reading my journal entry, I knew that we were the perfect match."

"I'm nothing like you." I stated.

"It was then that I chose you to be my vessel." He continued. "Can you not see it now? You felt it, even then in the prison, my will guiding yours. And I have grown stronger and stronger with each passing moment, and taken control of you inch by inch. Even now, your ability to resist me grows weaker by the second..." I lunged at Sombra, but instead of feeling my body crash into his, I ended up on the ground. I turned to see him standing calmly near me.

"You have no fucking _idea_ how much I can resist you." I said hatefully.

"I have met many ponies like you." He replied. "Sooner or later, your will is going to break. And the harder you fight, I assure you, the more sweet it will be for me when you do."

"Go to Hell." I spat. The next thing I knew, Sombra was in my face, holding onto my shoulders tightly. I found myself staring into a pair of luminous green eyes with hellish red pupils, boring into my very soul as a purple mist floated from the corners. This was evil...pure evil that I was looking at, and I felt it physically.

"You know _nothing_ of Hell!" He growled angrily. "But you will, Drake. I assure you of that. And your marefriend will as well. And your sister..."

"Leave them alone!" I exclaimed, tearing away from his grip. For a moment, we stared each other down, circling like two dogs preparing to fight.

"I know your weakness." Sombra said in a low, threatening voice. "And I know how to make a deal. Tell me, Dragoon, do you like to bargain?"

"Not with devils." I answered. I wanted nothing more than to tear this stallion apart. I knew better, that we were in fact in a daydream, and he was untouchable.

"I have no compunction against harming anypony who stands against me, even if it be a foal." He stated, and I wanted even more to skin him alive. "However, I am a fair and reasonable King. If you allow me to have your body and mind, here and now, no harm shall come to...Budder...ah yes, that is her name." I could no longer help myself. I started shaking, and couldn't stop, and I felt tears begin to rise in my eyes. Sombra grinned triumphantly at having reduced me to such a state.

"Shut up..." I whispered, closing my eyes.

"If you wish, I will even allow her to escape from my rule, and leave the country...with my blessing." He continued, circling me like a vulture. "Your little sister does not have to die with so many of the rest of them, Drake. Nor does she have to endure the burden of servitude that so many of the...useful ponies in the land will be subjected to...of course, losing you in this manner, she may take her own life, but there is always that little chance that she will flee, and live her life in relative peace. Does that not sound pleasant to you?"

"And...If I...don't?" I asked, my voice sounding more weak and fearful than I'd wanted.

"Then in retribution for your defiance, I will do things to her that you cannot even conceive of." He answered calmly. "Her end will be slow...painful...and she will beg for her suffering to come to an end for days. As I now see through your eyes and hear through your ears, I will keep _your_ consciousness imprisoned in your own mind, and make you to see and hear as I use your very own body to torture and kill Budder."

"Damn you, you son of a bitch!" I screamed. "I'm gonna kill you! You hear me, you fucking monster?!" he laughed again. "I'll kill you!" I broke down and let out a scream of agony as tears began to run down my cheeks. I fell to the ground as my legs gave out from under me, and I hid my face from the evil being in front of me.

"All ponies have their...breaking point." Sombra stated, sounding satisfied. "Do I have your answer?" I thought for a moment. I couldn't play his game. I couldn't let him get inside my head...in either sense of the phrase.

"Sombra..." I began. I sniffed, wiped my face angrily, and stood up. I locked eyes with him. "Let me tell _you_ something." He raised an eyebrow. "You threatening my family...that just means that I ain't gonna stop until you're deader than Hell. It also tells me that you know I can resist you for a long enough time that you have to try and make deals and threaten me to get me to give in. You just showed your _own_ weakness, asshole."

"Hm. Have it your way." He growled. "You really think you can win this..."

"Been through worse." I lied with a shrug.

"You are a fool." He stated.

"And you're a piece of shit." I shot back. The atmosphere changed. I could see shapes around me, colors, as if a new world was fading into view.

"Run little rabbit, run." Sombra's voice said, growing more and more faint.

"Drake?! Drake!" Somepony's voice called frantically. As my vision cleared and my faculties returned, I could feel myself being shaken. Rainbow Dash was holding my by the shoulders, shaking me as she shouted my name. "Drake?!"

"Wha...what?" I stammered, fully coming to with a splitting headache.

"Ohmygosh Drake!" Dashie cried, grabbing me in a tight embrace. "Please don't do that again! Please Drake, ohmygosh...I thought we lost you!" She pulled back, and I saw tears streaming down her cheeks. "You got hit by that unicorn's magic and...it was bad...I...I thought you were gone..."

"I'm not." I said. "I ain't leavin' just yet." I thought back to what had just happened to me. "Help me up...please..."

"You sure?" She asked.

"Yeah...just help me sit up." She nodded and helped me get into a sitting position.

"Bubby!" Budder sobbed, coming from somewhere behind me and hugging me close. I heard her crying hard, and felt her body lightly bouncing against me with each sob. Dash held onto me from my other side, and Daring Do walked up and looked into my eyes. Mine met hers, and I sighed.

"I saw him." I said coldly.

"What?" Daring asked.

"I saw the son of a bitch. Talked to him in my head."

"Sombra?!" Daring exclaimed.

"Yeah...the rat-bastard is in there...inside me...he ain't gonna stop till he takes total control."

"What did he say?" Dashie asked, a hint of fear in her voice.

"Other than the whole _resistance is futile_ shit?" I answered, then stopped myself. I threw my forelegs around Dash and Budder, and hugged them close. "I love you two, you hear me?" I said emotionally. "You two are my world. You're my sun, my moon and my stars, and I love you two more than you'll ever know. I just wanted to tell you that...I...in case..."

"NOOO!" My sister wailed. "No! You can't! You can't leave me, Drake! PLEASE!"

"What did he say?" Rainbow Dash repeated. "Drake?!"

"That he's gonna kill you..." I said through clenched teeth, tears starting to pour from my own eyes. "Both of you..."

"I ain't afraid of him!" My marefriend said defensively.

"But are you afraid of me?" I asked.

"Drake...no." Dashie answered.

"You should be." I said forlornly. "Because he wants to use my body to kill you. Guys...he knows what hurts me most!"

"Fight him, Drake!" Dash cried. "You have to! We can't lose you!"

"I'm gonna fight him down to the last." I stated grimly. "If he wants this body, he's gonna have to use every fucking ounce of his mojo to get it." I gave my sister and Dash a squeeze. "I promise. For you two. I'm not giving up for you two." I kissed them both, Budder on the forehead and Dash on the lips, then stood, and motioned with my head for Daring to follow me. We walked a short distance away, to where my family couldn't overhear what I had to say. She could tell by the look on my face that what I had to tell her was probably bad.

"Yeah Drake?" She sighed sadly, taking off her pith helmet and running a hoof through her grayscale mane.

"Daring...I just want to say that it has been a pleasure serving with you on this assignment. You're a hell of a mare...hell...you're a hell of a pony..."

"Drake...don't talk like that." Daring said, as if it were an order. "Don't you talk like you're giving up."

"I'm not." I thought about how to say what I needed to say to her. "Daring...I meant what I said. I plan on fighting Sombra out of my mind until I go down. I have to, and I _will._ " I sighed and looked back at my family a moment. They were holding onto each other, Dash obviously trying to comfort Budder. I then gave Daring Do what was probably the most serious look she'd ever seen me have. "And if I go down, Daring Do... _if_ , I want you to kill me." Her look softened, and for a moment, I thought that the hardened adventurer was going to cry.

"Drake, I...I..."

"You'll have to." I said. "If Sombra takes over my body, he'll try to kill all of you. I want you to understand...it won't be me anymore. If that happens...if I can't fight him anymore...I will be Sombra."

"I know." She said

"And I want you to put me down if that happens. Don't let me hurt Dashie or Budder. Please..." I begged. Daring looked away for a long moment, and when she turned back, she had tears in her eyes.

"I will. I promise." She whispered dutifully. Her lip trembled. "Goddamnit, Drake...you know why I always work alone?" When I didn't answer, she continued. "It's so I don't have to lose anypony, alright?"

"Neither do I." I nodded. "I never did. How did I get transferred from active duty to CID? Because I lost ponies...my whole squad...my marefriend...butchered, Daring. And I survived..."

"Five years ago on the frontier? That was YOU?!" She gasped. I nodded.

"And from then on, I've realized that I would rather die than to let anypony else close to me get hurt." I said. "And that's why I'm asking this of you. For my family."

"If the time comes...which I hope it doesn't...I'll do what needs to be done." She placed a hoof on my shoulder. "And I'll get your family out of here, Drake. I promise."

"Thanks." I said softly. I walked back to Dash and Budder. "What do you say we try to figure out a way out of this mess?" I nodded toward the two figures tied up across the cavern. "And we'll start by questioning those two..."

 _ **What do you all think? Will Drake make it out of this one? How can he? The gang have been in some sticky spots before, but this by far is the worst predicament they've ever been in, isn't it? I'm certain you are wondering what will happen next. I will attempt to have the next chapter up soon. Until then, thanks for reading. -Drake**_


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11**

 _ **Hey everypony. I'm back, I guess. Finally got chapter eleven written. I'm gonna try to get this thing done as quickly as possible, mainly cause I wanna get it done for you all like I said I would. But before I begin the chapter, I want to take the time to speak to you, all of my readers on a personal level. Some of you have followed this series from the very beginning. You have seen Drake through the best and the worst of his life, and in a way, you have shared in his joy, his pain, his hope and his fear through it all. You were there when he lost it all following the massacre. You were there with him when he fell in love, and when he adopted Budder and became truly happy. You have seen his darkest secrets and his deepest emotions...**_

 _ **Drake is very much me. The things he has been through, I have been through. Some details have been changed, of course, but everything Drake has felt and experienced are drawn from my own life, and the things that have changed me, hurt me, driven me and given me hope. You have all gotten to know ME so well over the past 10 months...**_

 _ **Drake has always said that his friends were his family. Being there with Drake through all of this, you have become HIS family in a way, and inasmuch, you are all my friends. Thank you all so much for reading Drake's story. It's been a hell of a ride, and now it looks like it may finally be over...and I just want to say that it has been my greatest honor to share Drake's story with all of you. Now me and my little girl get our wish. Drake and Budder will live forever. Thank you all. Now on to the chapter...**_

"Alright..." I began, standing before the two tied-up unicorns. Daring had out-planned me, and brought a few rings designed for just this occasion, and after slipping them onto the horns of the unicorns, they were no longer able to use their magical advantage. I looked between the two. "You know, I have some stuff that's been really eatin' at me lately...and maybe you two can help me out."

"You...you come to stop our king from returning to his rightful place as ruler of..." The entire time the leader went on with his predictable and lengthy monologue about his lord returning and enslaving the world, I simply stood there and wagged my lips mockingly. "...and you expect me to cooperate with such pitiful half-ponies?! Begone and prepare to humble yourself before..."

"OKAY!" I shouted, shutting him up. "Can you stop with the whole 'Sombra, bringer of doom' thing? You can cut the shit, cause I'm not impressed." He stared at me blankly. "I'm having a _really_ shitty day, and all I want are a few answers out of you two. You help me out, I might be inclined to let you go...scot free, no questions asked. You screw with me...Luna help me, as big of a turn as this day's been, I'm liable to turn your face inside out." The two unicorns stared at me a moment, as if unsure what to do.

"He'll do it too..." Dash added. "I mean, the whole turning your face inside out thing. The whole letting you go thing...that's like the best deal you two are gonna get. I'd say you go for it." They hesitated a moment, then the leader sighed.

"Well, what do you want to know?" He asked coldly.

"Y'all were doing a ritual to bring Sombra back." I stated. "And it required giving him a vessel to enter so that his spirit could have a physical form. I already know all this and more, just so you don't try to do something stupid like lie to me." I gave them a second to process that. "One thing I want to know is...how is the vessel chosen?"

"We prepared several possible vessels every generation." The leader spoke. "Drawn from adversity and abandoned at birth. The vessel must be physically strong, of a good mind and constitution, and be in every way an acceptable proxy form for our Lord Sombra." Why did those requirements sound so terribly familiar?

"You choose the vessel, but Sombra is really the one to pick the one he wants." I pressed.

"Yes. That is correct." The unicorn answered.

"And once Sombra picks his body, is there any way to get him out?" I asked, getting to the point I really wanted to know. The leader of the unicorns cocked his head slowly, as if thinking deeply on my question as he stared at me intently. A small smile appeared on his face.

"I see." He returned. "One of you then...Lord Sombra had chosen one of you to be his vessel...very interesting..."

"Answer my question." I growled angrily. "Is there a way to get him out of the vessel before he takes over...yes...or no?"

"Of course there is." He answered jovially. "One way, and it is very simple."

"What is it?" I asked curiously, trying hard not to betray that it was me that harbored the spirit of their king.

"If the vessel is killed before Sombra fully assimilates them, our lord's essence must return to his horn to await his reawakening yet again, and another vessel worthy of his patronage."

"The vessel has to die?" I repeated. My heart rate increased, and I felt a little light headed. The leader smiled again.

"Oh, I am sorry..." He said sarcastically. "Doesn't leave you many choices, does it? I assume then...that _you_ are the Vessel of King Sombra? I can see how this news doesn't sit well with you, being a nonbeliever...at least your life will be worth _something_ , bringing back the rightful King of all ponies..." The next thing I knew, my muzzle was an inch from his. I felt my face growing hot, and my head was throbbing with pain.

"My...life?!" I huffed. "That...is my _family_ over there. _THAT_ is my life, and _that_ is why I'm worth something, you son of a bitch!" I'd had about enough of this idiot. "I want Sombra out of my body, now! You hear me?! You're gonna work whatever voodoo you have to, but you're gonna do it, you hear me?!"

"It is not my choice." He answered calmly. "King Sombra chose you, and I will not interfere with the will of my king...even if I could." I felt a darkness growing, taking over my vision, and clouding my thoughts. He leaned forward, even closer to me. "I see him in you..." The unicorn stallion whispered. His lips turned up in an evil sneer. "Long...live...the king..."

The next thing I remember, I heard my sister scream. It was like being awakened from a dream, and as my vision cleared, I realized that I was still standing before the cult leader. My double-edged dagger was sticking out of his throat as he lay back against the wall of the cave, a pool of blood around his lifeless body. I stepped back and tried to piece together what had happened. I turned to my family and Daring Do, confused and scared. To make things worse, they looked every bit as frightened as I was. I stepped toward Dash and Budder, and they took a step back.

"Drake?" Dashie asked. "Is that you?"

"Dash...wha...what happened?" I questioned. "I'm me...I just don't know what happened...did I..."

"You killed that pony." Daring stated, answering my question. "Or...I guess Sombra killed him, but yeah..."

"Fuck..." I muttered.

"And that ain't all." Daring spoke again. "Right before you knifed that guy...you said something..."

"What...what did I say?" I asked nervously.

"It wasn't you talking..." Dash said. "It wasn't your voice, Drake."

"Sombra..." I concluded.

"You said..." Daring began. "Unworthy servant. You will pay for your insolence."

"I guess the fucker didn't like the way his little cabana-boy was talking to me." I sighed.

"You okay now?" Daring asked, and I noticed for the first time that she had her curved Arabian knife in her right hoof. That was a little disconcerting, but I understood her motives, and respected her intent. If I'd gone full-on Sombra, she wasn't gonna let me hurt my family.

"I'm alright." I replied, then gave her a dutiful nod. "And thanks." I added solemnly.

"I'm glad you are." She returned.

"Bubby...don't let him win." My sister said meekly, walking up to me slowly. "Please."

"I don't plan on it, angel..." I whispered.

"You can't...I need you."

"I know...

"What do we do, Drake?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I don't know." I answered stoically.

"Drake, he said you have to _die_ to get Sombra out of you!"

"I know." I said for the millionth time.

"Maybe there's another way." Daring offered, stating the obvious. My gaze immediately jerked to the other unicorn, still tied up beside his dead comrade. I was quickly in front of him, and the younger stallion looked up at me with fear in his eyes.

"There has to be another way to stop this!" I said, making it sound like an order. "And you're gonna tell me!" He cringed like a beaten dog.

"No, I swear!" He exclaimed. "He was tellin' the truth! You have to die to release yourself!"

"Explain that, huh?!" I shot back.

"If...if your heart stops beating, it severs the l...link between your life force and King Sombra's...that's how it works! You're n...not gonna k...kill me, are you?!"

"Well, that depends..." I answered. "Right now, I don't feel like your master is taking over my mind, so I think you're safe." I paused a moment. "Unless you lied to me..."

"NO! I DIDN'T, I SWEAR!" He exclaimed. I drew my saber.

"Drake?!" Dashie called out fearfully. I slashed out with my saber, cutting the ropes that bound his forehooves. Now free, he sat there a moment, staring at me in confusion.

"Get the hell out of here." I stated. "Go on...before Sombra comes back and kills you too." He nodded, stood and backed away slowly. Then he turned and cut out in a dead-gallop in the direction he'd come. I turned to my family and Daring, and let out a sigh. "No more blood on my hooves." I muttered with a nod.

"I love you, Drake." Rainbow Dash said. "You ain't nothing like Sombra."

"And I plan on keeping it that way." I stated.

 _ **Hopefully, there will be more to come. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon, my friends. -Drake**_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

 _ **This is a REALLY short chapter, and I know how odd that is for me. I just wanted to show Daring's POV just once in this thing. I hope you enjoy it. -Drake**_

 **From 'Daring Do and the Curse of the King'**

I knew that Drake was in trouble. The Sombra followers had given us the terrible news that there was no way to get the spirit of the evil king out of the gallant soldier's body. I think we all understood how badly this could end, and what little chance there was of Drake making it out alive. I think none of us wanted to even consider losing him as a possibility though. There was always the hope that Princess Cadence or Princess Celestia had the power to draw him out and fix the mess we were in before it was too late, but that was the problem. Whether or not we would be too late. The more time passed, the more I could see that Lieutenant Drake was being worn down, that he was losing the fight inside of him.

We left the chamber and took one of the tunnels in the center. It was a gamble, but in situations like this, you sometimes have to throw all of the chips down and take a chance. So we rolled the dice and picked a passage. Drake wasted no time in charging ahead of us, no doubt determined to not let King Sombra take possession of his mind. He loved his family, more than anything. I could tell that about him from the start, and maybe that is what had kept him going this long. I hoped that it would be enough to keep him going long enough to reach help.

Drake stopped once, and I could see the struggle he was up against. He clenched his teeth and grabbed his head. His breathing became harder and more labored. I knew there was nothing we could do but watch, and hope that he had the strength to pull through this latest mental attack by King Sombra. Whatever he did, he fought it off, and after a moment to catch his breath, he was galloping down the corridor again, with his family and I running to keep up. I hoped. I prayed to whatever deity I thought would listen that He would make it. I had my doubts about the strange detective when I was assigned to work with him, but in the short time I'd worked with him, he had more than proven himself. He was my friend.

 _ **Next chapter up soon.**_


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER 13**

 _ **Hello again. I ain't gone yet, and I finally managed to get this one written. The story will be finished by tomorrow or the day after. I guess finishing this story is kind of like my Christmas gift to all of you. So here's the chapter you were all waiting for. Hope you enjoy.**_

We ran. The cave kept going, and so did we. For what seemed like at least fifteen minutes, we galloped as hard as we could. I ran for my life, and Dashie, Budder and Daring, I guess they were running for my life too. I was so sure that we were getting close to the main tunnel. We had to be. I couldn't stop. I couldn't give up. We had to get out of this cavern and get to Cadence. _They need you, Drake. You can't let them down. Chest hurts. Ignore it. Can't stop running. Not yet. Keep going, Drake...you can do it._

"Give up your fight..." A voice said from somewhere. I tried to ignore it. "You are mine..." It said.

"Shut up!" I hollered out.

"Drake?!" Dashie called.

"It's...it's him!" I yelled back.

"Yes...it is _me_..." The voice said evilly from inside my head. "And you cannot stop me...give me...my...body."

"NO!" I screamed. I felt cold again, like I was standing outside in the winter. It washed over my entire body, and I started shivering. I felt an electrical sensation. I tried to run faster, but it started feeling like everything was slowing down, like time was decelerating around me and I was trying to run through molasses. My vision started to grow dim.

"Drake?!" I heard Daring call out to me. "Drake, hold on! Fight it!"

"I'm trying!" I yelled.

"Not...trying hard enough...you fool..." Sombra's voice said. Then, I heard a wicked laugh echo through my head.

"Get out...of my fucking...MIND!" I roared. I grabbed my head, which was pounding now. My legs buckled, and I fell to the ground. A spasm shot through my body, and it was if I jumped up, only to land on my side. I felt myself involuntarily kick my back legs. "Help me!" I screamed. The pain was becoming unbearable. I had to force it down...I had to push Sombra back into the depths of my mind. I made myself remember my first date with Dashie...the restaurant in Ponyville. She thought I was a dashing army officer, and I thought she was a self-absorbed pegasus. The pain was subsiding a bit. I'd saved Rainbow Dash, and she saved me from myself. I loved her, and if I got out of this, I thought about all the ways I could show her how much I loved her.

"Bub...fight him! Don't let him have you!" My sister screamed. My thoughts turned to Budder. To the first time I'd met her in the orphanage. As soon as she'd found out she had a brother, somepony to take her home and love her, she broke down and cried. I thought about all the times we'd watched each others' backs on our missions. She was the best foal somepony could ever ask for. I could now move my legs. I got to my hooves and staggering a bit, forced myself to move forward.

"Not...gonna...beat me, Sombra!" I yelled in my mind...or was it out loud? I couldn't tell what was in my head and what was real anymore. All I could focus on in the physical world was the cave before me, and putting one hoof in front of the other.

We finally came to something familiar. We passed through an opening, and realized that the new tunnel we stood in was the passage that led to the colossal room. We were finally close to getting out of the cave and getting help. I didn't stop. I charged forward, vaguely aware of the three sets of voices behind me. That, and the throbbing in my head and the sharp pain in my chest.

"You cannot resist my will..." The king's voice stated.

"Go back to Hell..." I gasped, running as fast as I could. I began to think about freedom, about getting out of here and getting Sombra torn out of my mind and everything being okay. "You're about to lose, Sombra..."

"No." Sombra's voice growled. I ignored him. "No!" He commanded inside my head. As if on cue, my legs gave out again. I pitched forward, and hit the ground hard, sliding to a stop face-down. I tried to stand, but darkness was taking my senses.

"No...you won't..." I ordered. Another spasm hit me, and I flopped like a fish. Another, and I kicked wildly for a few moments. It's horrible to be unable to control your own body. I wanted so bad to cry out for my marefriend and my sister, but for some reason, I couldn't talk. I gritted my teeth, and saw a flash of Sombra, laughing maniacally. I was blacking out fast, and I was trying to fight it. I could feel _his_ spirit inside me now, and I tried to resist it too. I didn't know what to focus on, or what to do. I wanted to scream.

 **From Rainbow Dash's Memoirs:**

We were running through the first tunnel we recognized. We were so close, and it looked like we were going to actually make it. I was scared. I admit it. I was scared to death that we wouldn't make it back to the Crystal Empire. All of a sudden, Drake fell in front of us, and hit the ground hard. I screamed his name, but he didn't answer. I saw him try to stand, but fall again.

"No...you won't..." My fiancee said, his voice straining. Then, his body jerked, and he flipped over, and kicked a few times, like he was having a seizure or something. I wanted to run to him. I wanted to help him, but I knew how dangerous it would be to be near him if Sombra took over. All I could do was hold onto Budder and watch. I tried to cover her eyes so she couldn't see what was happening to him, but she was at her breaking point.

"DRAKE!" She screamed. "Bub no! No! Please no! Oh Luna..." Daring ran over, and helped me hold her back.

"DASHIIIIEEEE! BUDDER!" Drake screamed. It was his voice, but I'd never heard him scream like that. He flopped around a few more times, then tried to stand. Blood was running out of his nose, and I didn't know if it was from where he'd hit the ground, or from what was happening inside his body. My heart was breaking. I knew that I was watching my amazing stallion, my hero and the love of my life dying, and I had to fight to keep from breaking down.

"Daring...do something!" I begged.

"Dash...there's nothing I _can_ do..." She said back.

"Nooooo!" Drake wailed. He was back on the ground, and holding onto his head as he rolled around.

"MY RESURRECTION IS AT HOOF!" An evil-sounding voice came from Drake's lips. "Do not resist me!" Drake rolled to his belly, and somehow stood up on his hind legs, and let out a scream.

"NO! GET OUT OF ME!" He yelled in his normal voice, falling onto his back.

"Bubby...bubby please..." Budder panted. She was losing it, and couldn't catch her breath. I grabbed her in a hug and held her tightly. Looking back to Drake, I saw blood was now streaming from his ears now too.

"Daddy!" He screamed. I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't fight the tears. Hearing him scream for his daddy like a scared yearling broke me, and I started crying onto Budder as she cried onto me. "Daddy help meeeeee!" Drake squeaked.

"I am Sombra...the one true king of..." Sombra's voice was cut off by a horrible scream. Drake sounded like he was screaming and choking at the same time. I looked up to see him laying on his side, foaming at the mouth. He shook a few times, gasped twice, then lay still. What happened next told me what had just happened to Drake. A black mist drifted out of him, and slid along the floor, going into Drake's saddle bag, which had been thrown across the cave by his thrashing.

"That was Sombra." Daring stated. "That means...no..." she galloped toward Drake, and I followed quickly. Daring Do rolled him over, and felt for a pulse. "Not good, Dash, not good..." She panted fearfully. She looked me in the eyes. "Does he have a bad heart?"

"I...uh..."

"DASH! Does he have a bad heart, yes or no?!" She yelled.

"Yeah! He has heart problems..."

"Damnit...he's had a heart attack then..." The adventurer said. "Not much time. Dash, go for help. You know the way back."

"Yeah. I can do it." I replied. I had to, and I wasn't gonna fail Drake.

"Go. Budder! Come here. I need you to help your brother, okay?! We're gonna try to save him!" Drake's sister hurried over as I made for the exit.

 **From Budder's Autobiography**

When Daring Do told me to come help her with Drake, it was like all of the panic left me. Drake needed me, and I had to be strong. I ran over to where Daring had rolled him onto his back. Dash was already running down the corridor to get help.

"Okay, Budder...when I say breathe, I want you to hold his nose, seal your lips with your brother's, and blow a big breath into him, got it?" She said. "You're gonna be his lungs."

"Okay." I said. I was nervous, but I knew I had to do this.

"Alright." Daring said. She put both of her hooves on my brother's chest, and began pressing down hard, making his ribcage move down each time. She counted as she went, and when she got to fifteen, she said "BREATHE!" I did what she'd told me, and covered his nose, put my lips on his, and blew my air into him. "Good." Daring said, then started counting again. "One, two, tree, four..."

I don't know how long we did the CPR on Drake...it could have been thirty seconds or thirty minutes, and I wouldn't have known. Daring would do fifteen presses on his chest, then I would give him a deep breath. Before too long, she didn't have to tell me to breathe anymore. As soon as she's say fifteen, I would give him a breath. Maybe it was both of us working together so well that saved him, I don't know, but when Daring stopped pushing on his chest, checked his pulse on his neck, and said she felt a heartbeat, it was one of the proudest moments of my life.

"He ain't out of the woods yet..." Daring Do said. "He's got a pulse, but it's weak..." She held a hoof over his mouth. "And he's breathing a little too...that's good."

"What do we do now?" I asked.

"We gotta wait." She replied. "We have to watch him. If something happens, we have to do what we just did again. We have to take care of him till Dash gets back with help. Can you help me do that?"

"Yeah." I answered in a whisper. Now that the worst was over, it hit me again that Drake was in so much trouble. I felt tears in my eyes again. Daring saw that, and I guess she wanted to change the subject.

"So...your brother takes care of you?" She asked, scooting closer to me. I nodded. "Where's your parents?"

"They...they're dead." I answered. "They died when I was really little."

"So Drake raised you?"

"No." I said. I took a deep breath. Maybe explaining this would get my mind off of things. "Our parents...they abandoned bubby when he was born. They left him on this soldier's doorstep. Then, like seventeen years later, they had me. When I was like three, they went on a trip across the ocean. The ship went down, and they died. I had to go to an orphanage."

"And you two didn't even know each other existed." Daring said.

"No. Not for a long time. Then...bubby..." I nodded toward Drake. "He found out he had a sister, and he came and adopted me. He saved me...he really did...and my life's been so awesome ever since." I saw Daring smiling as she looked down at the ground.

"Let me guess, him and Dash have a similar story, right? Like he saved her from a burning building or a guild of assassins or something? Sounds like him."

"They don't talk much about that." I said. I watched my brother's chest slowly rise and fall. "He was investigating a bunch of ponies disappearing in Ponyville. I guess they met while he was working on the case. Something bad happened. I know that Dashie used to be a pegasus...the killer...she ponynapped Dash and was about to kill her, and Drake tracked them down and killed the murderer and saved Rainbow Dash."

"That's who he is." Daring muttered.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Your brother...he's _that guy_."

"That guy?" I questioned. Daring sighed.

"I heard about him before I met him. Know what somepony told me? That I'd never meet somepony so loyal and so selfless. They said that he always tried to save everypony in trouble, and that he always did the right thing. You know... _that_ guy. The hero. And that's what your brother is, Budder...he's a hero."

"I know." I said. "He's _my_ hero." Daring put a foreleg around me. "Will he be okay?"

"I think so..." She replied. "I hope so..." I don't know how long we waited there, watching Drake to make sure he was okay. It seemed like forever. Finally, I heard voices coming down the hall. The cave was lit by a dozen lanterns as a huge group of soldiers and paramedics filled the tunnel. Rainbow Dash was at the front of them, and I felt like a heavy weight was gone. Maybe everything would be okay now. At least I hoped it would...

 _ **The next chapter will be posted soon. Hope you liked this one. I welcome your questions and comments. Expect the last chapter later today or tomorrow...probably tomorrow, as I can end this volume right before Christmas. -Drake**_


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER 14**

 _ **As I promised you, I am back with the last chapter of this volume. This is my Christmas present to all of you, the resolution of this story. So Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Blessed Yule to you all. Now here is chapter fourteen. Enjoy, everypony.**_

I opened my eyes. My eyelids felt like lead, and I had the sensation you always get when you have to wake up from only an hour or two of sleep. I felt a heaviness throughout my body, in fact...a feeling like I was made of stone instead of flesh and blood. My eyes finally opened, and I had to close them again, against the light that hurt them. I blinked a few times, and my vision started to clear. I found myself looking up at a white ceiling, and heard a steady rhythmic beeping from somewhere close. I tried to talk, but all that came out was a choked grunt.

"Drake?" A familiar voice squeaked. "Sweetie?" I slowly turned my head to see Rainbow Dash leaned over my bed, worry in her magenta eyes.

"Daasssh..." I whispered hoarsely. She looked around the room, and the next thing I knew, my marefriend was holding a glass of water to my lips. It was good, cool and refreshing, and I drank greedily, spilling some on myself.

"Easy...take it easy, Drake..." Dash said comfortingly. She took the water away.

"Where...where am I?" I asked, my thirst gone, and my ability to speak returned.

"You're in the hospital...in Canterlot." Dash answered. I thought for a moment. I had been in the cave near the Crystal Empire. Now, I was in Canterlot. How? Dashie must have seen the confusion on my face. She gently caressed my forehead.

"You had a heart attack..." She said. "Well, that's what the doctors say...that it was a pretty bad heart attack..." It all suddenly donned on me now.

"Sombra!" I exclaimed, trying to sit up. The beeping became faster. Rainbow Dash pushed me back onto the mattress.

"Chillax...alright? Sombra's gone. You beat him. He went back into his horn, and Celestia made sure he'd never come back again." As I thought about what my marefriend had told me, she looked back and nodded to somepony.

"Gone?" I repeated. "How the Hell did I beat him? I don't remember anything..."

"You died..." Another voice I could never mistake said sadly. Budder stepped up beside Dash, and put her forehooves on mine. She had tears in her blue-gray eyes, and her mane was a mess. "You actually died, Bubby..." She added, then sniffed.

"But..."

"Daring was able to ressustinate you or whatever." Dash said. I had to smile at her attempt at the word. "If she didn't know CPR, we would have lost you..."

"Where is she now?" I asked. "Daring Do?"

"She had to leave on another assignment a few days ago." Dashie replied. "She said if you woke up, to tell you that she's glad she was able to work with you...um...she saved you, so you're even now, and that you're everything she'd heard you were and more."

"Well...that was awful nice of her..." I said, trying to chuckle a bit, and ending up coughing. I felt tired, very tired. It was becoming harder to think, but...wait...did she say a few days? "How long..."

"You've been out for like over a week..." Dashie said softly. I tried to process that. Too tired. I felt myself drifting off.

"Sleep, Drake." Dash whispered.

"Yeah, you need it, Bubby." My sister added. I closed my eyes, and before I drifted off, I felt two kisses, one on the lips and another on the cheek.

I woke up, and found myself still laying in the hospital bed. I was still tired, but not as worn out as I had felt the first time I had come to. It was very dim in the room. I looked to my right, and out the window, I could see that it was evening, near sunset. How long had I been asleep? A glass of water rested on a table nearby, and I grabbed it and drained most of it before realizing for the first time the IV needles in my left foreleg. Of course...they had me on a saline drip...

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Drake." Somepony stated. I sat the glass back down, and turned my head to the left. In the shadows of the room, I could make out the gray face, the single blue eye, and the red part of the unicorn's mane.

"Shadow." I greeted. She stepped closer, and seemed to hesitate a moment before moving up to my bed. The assassin cocked her head a bit, then looked away a moment.

"Sorry dude...just don't like seein' you like this..." She commented. "And hospitals always kinda give me the fuckin' creeps..."

"Somethin' actually gives you the creeps..." I said with a smile. She scoffed.

"Come back from the dead, and you're _still_ a smart ass..." She said back with a smile that showed her fangs. Just as quickly, the smile faded. "Guess we have that in common now, huh?" She asked. "We both came back somehow..."

"Yeah." I sighed.

"Small club we got." She said with a small shrug. "When I heard you were awake...I thought I'd come and visit, you know?" She explained. She rolled her eye. "Ugh...fuck...alright...I've been here like every day since you got here. I think you ruined me, Drake...Heh. Oh, and uh...I've been hangin' out with Budder to keep her from fuckin' losing it. Ain't been easy. That kid worships the ground you walk on, you know that?"

"I know..." I muttered. "Thank you, Shadow." I added solemnly. "Thank you for taking care of her." The undead teenager shot me a lackluster stare.

"What are families for, Drake?" She replied. I gave her a smile. "Anyway...I'm glad you're alright. I'm gonna come visit ya when you get out of here, so plan on that." She huffed a short sigh. "Somepony else is waiting outside to see you. I'll tell her you're awake." Another little smile. "See ya, Drake." She walked out of the room, and I heard the door close. A few moments later, I heard it open again, and looked to see who my mystery guest was. Princess Celestia walked up to my bed, a look of sadness on her face.

"Hello, my dear Drake..." She greeted softly. "I trust you are feeling better?"

"Yeah...I can actually _feel_ something now, so I guess that's an improvement..." I tried to joke. She looked down for a second.

"I am sorry to have sent you on this terrible mission." She said. "I cannot believe that I nearly lost you...that your family almost lost you..."

"Hey, it's alright Princess..." I returned comfortingly. "We got the bad guy, didn't we?"

"Yes...yes we did." She answered. "And Sombra will no longer pose a threat to anypony. Never again. I made certain of that this time."

"Now that makes me feel better." I stated.

"Now as for you," She began. "I'm sure you have questions about what happened to you between your...incident and now."

"Yeah...come to think of it, I would like to figure that one out." I scoffed.

"You were possessed by the spirit of Sombra...fully...posessed, Drake." Celestia said. I sighed. "But I do not think he counted on your ability to fight...or what you had to fight for. According to the others, there was a terrible battle raging inside of you for some time. I understand from my sister that you have had some...problems with your heart in the past couple of years?"

"Yeah, I guess the old ticker ain't what it used to be..." I commented.

"Well as the battle for your body raged, it apparently began to wear you down physically. It all culminated with your heart finally giving out. You went into full cardiac arrest. Awful for you, my dear detective, but your heart stopping caused Sombra's essence to reenter his horn, where he was trapped yet again."

"Dash told me it was Daring Do that brought me back." I said, remembering what my marefriend had said earlier.

"Yes. It is very fortunate she was there. She was able to give you first aid immediately. Free from the threat of Sombra and his followers, She and your sister stayed with you while Rainbow Dash journeyed through a snowstorm back to the Crystal Empire. Princess Cadence dispatched a medivac team and sent for me immediately. It is a miracle we were able to keep you alive until you made it to the hospital."

"And here I am..." I finished. "Thank you, princess..."

"For what? Rushing to your aid? Why would I not?" Celestia replied. "You are my friend and my own gallant soldier. I must take care of you. Speaking of which...because of what you and your family have suffered during this assignment, I have decided to give you what you may call...hazard pay." I rolled my eyes. "Sixty thousand bits for your services. In addition, Rainbow Dash and Budder shall receive twenty thousand bits each. Is that acceptable?"

"A hundred thousand...bits?" I tasted the words as I said them, then looked into Celestia's eyes. "Are you tryin' to give me another heart attack, Your Highness?"

"Well..." She said, giving me a small grin for a moment. "You will no doubt need time to fully recover, and I wanted you and your family to be financially secure until then. I also took the liberty of paying up all of your bills for the rest of the year. Princess Cadence was asking what she could do to repay you, and after some questioning as to your particular...tastes, she sent you a crate of coffee from her kingdom...and she made you a knight of the Crystal Empire."

"Huh... _SIR_ Dragoon Saber..." I stated. "Don't think I could ever get used to _that_." Celestia giggled. She looked out the window as the moon rose over the horizon. "I see my sister has raised the moon for the evening...she'll be wanting to see you now. I will fetch her." The princess leaned in close. "If there is anything else you need, call upon me at once."

"I will, Your Highness." I nodded. She smiled and left the room. I had already sort of figured how the next visit would begin, and I was mostly right.

"Oh Drake...my dearest friend..." Luna said sadly, walking up to my bedside. "It is so awful to see you in this state..."

"I think I'll be alright, milady." I said reassuringly. She leaned in and gave me a gentle hug.

"Yes...now." She returned. "But you have no idea how worried I have been for you." She squeaked. "I was afraid that I had lost you..." She pulled back, and I could see tears running down her cheeks. "I do wish you didn't have to go on these dangerous missions...Drake..." I embraced my friend and she cried into my shoulder for a few moments. "I doth know that it is your heart that troubles you." She said. "But I beg of you, my dearest friend...do not break _my_ heart by leaving me."

"I plan on sticking around for a long time." I said. "For Dashie and Budder...and for you. You know...my friends and family is really what kept Sombra from being able to take over my mind. I had more to lose than he had to gain." She nodded in understanding, and I didn't have to explain. What did he have to gain by coming back? The world? What good is owning the world if you don't have ponies you love to share it with? I already had the world, and that was something somepony like him could never understand.

"We all had more to lose than he had to gain." Luna countered. She exhaled sadly. "Drake?"

"Yeah, Luna?"

"No more of these dangerous missions?" She asked gravely. Before I could protest, she continued. "I spoke of this with my sister, and she concurs. Your health has grown worse of late, and we are concerned that these assignments are too strenuous for you now."

"But milady..." I argued. "Who can do these jobs if I don't?"

"Well, because of you, we now have better police agencies. Your techniques have been adopted by many of our agencies, Drake. Rusty Shackleford, in an attempt to be as good at crime detection as his rival, has become quite the good investigator. These paranormal cases that have become so problematic for you, let me and your sister handle those matters. And for the more _sensitive_ cases, we now have Shadow."

"You know I would miss the chase." I said.

"You wouldn't be out of the game you love so much, Drake. I promise you that. We still need your advise in all manner of criminal problems, and of course you can still investigate criminal cases personally. I don't want you to give up on what you love doing, my friend...I only ask that you take a step back from the type of deadly and dangerous situations which have landed you here..."

"Well..." I sighed. "Do I have a choice in this?" Luna grinned playfully.

"I _could_ restrict your movements by promoting you to colonel, and placing over the entire CID." She threatened with a smile. "It seems that could be the only way to...tie you down..." She blushed immediately. "Oh...I didn't mean...what did I say? Tie you down? I meant to say..."

"I know what you meant." I chuckled. "Of course I'm gonna have to give in on this one. I'll lay back and take it easy...at least for a while."

"Thank you, Drake..." Luna said, sounding relieved. She hugged me close. "Now I don't have to worry about you so much! So many sleepless days...Drake?" She pulled away from me, and for a moment, the princess of the night and I looked into each others' eyes.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I know that you...um...you have already given me your answer...some time ago." She whispered. "And I will continue to respect that. But almost losing you like this...I must say something before one day I awake...and realize that I no longer can do so."

"What?" I asked curiously. Luna leaned in and kissed my forehead gently. Then, with tears in her eyes, she stood and looked away.

"I love you, Drake." She said in a low voice. "I have been in love with you since we first met. I can have my choice of many stallions...but I know in my heart that I belong to you...even if I can never have you." She gave a sad smile as she looked at the floor. "You mean so much to me...and if I must continue worshiping you from afar, so be it...but yes, Drake...I love you, and I just needed to say that."

"I admire your honesty." I said. "It took guts to say that, Luna...and I understand why you did." She smiled warmly. "You're my best friend, milady. Outside of Dash and Budder...I mean...damnit..." Luna giggled at my consternation. "You mean a lot to me too, Luna. I may not love you the way you love me...but I do love you."

"Thank you, Drake." She returned. "Once you are home, I will come visit you if that is okay."

"You are _always_ welcome in my home, Luna." I answered with a smile.

"I will see you soon then, my dearest friend." She said. "I believe your family should be here now. I do not want to keep them from you. Farewell for now, Drake. Get well soon."

"I will." I nodded. Luna left the room.

"Bubby!" My sister exclaimed, running up to the bed. "Are you okay now?"

"Almost." I answered with a smile, hugging Budder. "A couple more days of rest, and we'll be riding mattresses down the staircase again."

"No...no riding mattresses down the stairs again!" Dash countered, reaching my bed. "Last time, you broke the..." She sighed and hugged us both. "Alright...you get one freebie." I grinned.

"I gotta get hurt more often..." I said. "...if it means getting away with stuff."

"No!" Budder stated. "You can't get hurt anymore. You ain't allowed."

"No...I guess I ain't." I said. "Apparently, you and the Princesses agree on that one."

"What do you mean?" Budder asked.

"I guess everypony is getting tired of seeing me close to death all the damned time." I said. "So I'm not allowed to go on dangerous missions anymore." I huffed. "At least we don't have to worry about money for a good long time...and I guess that means we get to spend more time together at home."

"I like _that_ idea!" Budder grinned. "More hangout time! Maybe I can teach you how to play videogames!"

"Like heck I can _learn_!" I shot back with a grin.

"And _we_ can use some hangout time...of our own..." Dash added. She smiled sweetly. "...you know..."

"Unnngghhhhhh!" My sister complained, sliding off of the hospital bed and onto the floor. I chuckled. Fifteen, and still overreacting to anypony's sexual innuendos. My sister had never dated or shown any interest in any colt I'd seen, and I wondered to myself what she would do when she started dating. Probably scare them off. I chuckled again. Make my job easier.

"Um...Lieutenant Dragoon Sabre?" A nurse called softly, entering the ward. My family stood aside to give her room.

"Yes ma'am?" I answered. The nurse, a younger mare with a light yellow coat and brown mane looked over a chart before turning her attention back to me.

"Well, the doctor says that if nothing changes, you should be good to go home tomorrow morning." She said. "You're still going to need plenty of bed rest for the next couple weeks, and you're being prescribed a couple things that should help keep your heart in check. Sound good?"

"The going home thing sounds pretty good." I said. "No offense to you or the staff here, but I prefer my own cooking over an IV bag any day." She gave me a small laugh. "Now...I know how this stuff goes, nurse...so tell me, what's the damage?" She cocked her head. "You know, how bad is it, really?"

"Well sir..." She sighed. "According to your chart, your heart was somewhat unstable before. Your attending physician stated that years of undue stress and tension had resulted in a weakening of your cardiovascular tissues, leading to their slow degeneration, as well as a type of cardiac arrhythmia during periods of extreme stress. I'm sorry, do you understand all of this terminology?"

"All too well." I replied. "Go on, ma'am."

"Well anyhow, your heart is degenerating slowly, as I said. Your doctor stated it was all due to stress, mainly from your job. He also said something about a..." She glanced at a page of the chart. "An addiction and overuse of stimulants...Lieutenant?"

"Oh...heheheh...a pot and a half of coffee a day...ma'am." I answered. She stared blankly at me. "Strong coffee..."

"That doesn't help things much, you know that, right?" She advised.

"I know."

"Sir...the medicine will help keep your heart stable if you take them as prescribed. But it isn't a cure, I want you to understand that. The damage done to your heart during your heart attack...that will never heal. It complicated an already bad situation. I'm not trying to scare you, Lieutenant. You probably have a good long while..."

"But eventually, it's gonna take me out." I stated the obvious.

"Yes sir." The nurse said gravely. I sighed, and Dash and Budder held my forehooves.

"It's alright...something's gotta take us all down sooner or later." I said to my family. "And me? Not yet. I already promised you that. And I promise I'm gonna try and take care of myself so I can be here for a while too." I knew they were still worried. Why wouldn't they be? why shouldn't I be? Who knew how long I had? Might as well make the best of the life I had. I smiled at Dash and Budder. "Know what else I promise?"

"What?" They said in unison.

"When we get home and I rest up for a while, we're going on a vacation. A LONG vacation. Anywhere you want."

"Ponyville?" Dash asked.

"Sure thing."

 _ **So ends Drake's darkest assignment, and the closest he's come to dying since Volume Two. What did you think? It's been a bumpy ride, both the story and everything that's happened to me while writing it. Now the story is over, and I can take a couple of days to focus on resolving the issues plaguing my own life...however that may be. I may return in a few days with the beginning of the next volume. If I do not, there is a good reason for that, and I'll leave it to my proxy to finish the final two volumes of Drake's story. Thank you all so much for reading, and for your reviews, through this story and all of them in the series. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone. I hope I will return to you soon. -Drake**_


End file.
